i       i*""  'k  «rr  i    t    y^ 

LEW  IS 


r'*   j     -     >       •"'  ''  v  ''  i     i 

CHAFER 


LIBRARY 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

SANTA  BARBARA 

Gift  of 

THE  INSTITUTE 

FOR  THE  STUDY  OF 

AMERICAN  RELIGION 


SALVATIO 


BY 

LEWIS  SPERRY  CHAFER 

BIBLE  TEACHER7' 

Author  of  "Satan,"  "True  Evangelism,''  "The 

Kingdom  in  History  and  Prophecy," 

"He  that  is  Spiritual,"  etc, 


PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 
SUNDAY  SCHOOL  TIMES  COMPANY 
1922 


COPYRIGHT,   IQI7,  BY 
LEWIS  SPERRY  CHAFER 


tto 


MY   DEAREST    AND   MOST 
FAITHFUL    COMPANION 

BOTH    IN    LIFE 
AND  IN   THE   MINISTRY 
OF  THE  WORD  OF  GOD, 

THIS    BOOK 
IS    AFFECTIONATELY    DEDICATED. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

PEEFACE vii 

I.     THE  WORD  SALVATION       ...  1 
II.     THE   DIVINE    ESTIMATE    OF    THE 

LOST 6 

III.  THE  THREE-FOLD  MESSAGE  OF  THE 

CROSS 15 

IV.  THE    PRESENT    VALUES    OF    THE 

CROSS  TO  THE  UNSAVED  ...  31 

V.     THE  ONE  CONDITION  OF  SALVATION  42 
VI.     THE  RICHES  OF  GRACE  IN  CHRIST 

JESUS 54 

VII.     Two  CARDINAL  FACTS  ....  69 

VIII.     ASSURANCE 78 

IX.     REWARDS,  OR  THE  PLACE  OF  CHRIS- 
TIAN WORKS 86 

X.     THE  ETERNAL  SECURITY  OF  THE 

BELIEVER,  PART  1   ....  96 
XI.     THE  ETERNAL  SECURITY  OF  THE 

BELIEVER,  PART  2   .      .      .      .  116 

XII.     AN  APPEAL 138 

INDEX  O<F  SCRIPTURE  TEXTS  .   .  143 

INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS  147 


PEEFACE 

THIS  book  is  presented  as  a  simple  Gospel  mes- 
sage and  is  in  no  way  intended  to  be  a  contribu- 
tion to  theological  discussion.  It  is  evangelistic 
in  purpose.  The  writer  has  hoped  that  this  state- 
ment of  God's  saving  grace  may  be  adapted  to 
the  spiritual  understanding  of  the  unsaved  that 
they  may  grasp  the  way  of  salvation  from  these 
pages  and  so  be  led  to  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  and  be  saved. 

It  is  hoped,  as  well,  that  many  who  have  be- 
lieved may  find  some  new  consolation  and  up- 
building in  Christ  even  through  this  brief  un- 
folding of  the  saving  grace  of  God. 

That  this  book  may  be  used  of  God  to  the 
eternal  glory  of  His  Son,  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord, 
is  the  prayer  of  the  author. 

LEWIS  SPERBY  CHAFES. 
East  Orange,  N.  J. 
October  1,  1917. 


vn 


INTRODUCTION 

the  young  girl  at  Philippi  described  Paul 
and  Silas  as  "servants  of  the  Most  High  God 
which  shew  unto  us  the  way  of  salvation,"  she 
unwittingly  described  them  and  their  work  in 
the  truest  and  best  possible  way.  There  is  noth- 
ing greater  or  nobler  than  to  be  "servants  of  the 
Most  High  God,"  and  nothing  more  glorious  than 
to  "shew  the  way  of  salvation."  This  little  work 
by  my  good  friend,  Mr.  Chafer,  is  in  the  true 
"Apostolic  Succession,"  for  it  depicts  in  clear  and 
Scriptural  language  the  Gospel  of  Divine  salva- 
tion through  the  Person  and  Work  of  Christ.  I 
rejoice  in  his  faithful  and  forcible  message,  and 
am  glad  of  the  privilege  of  calling  attention  to  a 
presentation  of  the  way  of  salvation  which  is  cer- 
tain to  lead  all  who  read  it  earnestly  to  a  living 
faith  in  Christ,  and  then  to  a  constant  joy  be- 
cause of  the  abundant  and  assured  provision  of 
God  for  the  Christian  life.  It  is  only  on  the 
familiar  principle  of  "Grace  before  Meat,"  so 
often  associated  with  a  clergyman,  that  I  feel 
justified  in  accepting  the  invitation  to  commend 
these  admirable  chapters  from  one  whose  services 
as  a  Bible  teacher  are  continually  becoming  bet- 
ter known  and  more  warmly  appreciated  in  the 
United  States  and  Canada. 

W.  H-  GEIFFITH  THOMAS. 


IX 


CHAPTEE  I 

THE  WOKD  SALVATION 

THE  word  salvation  is  used  in  the  Bible  to  indi- 
cate a  work  of  God  in  behalf  of  man.  In  the 
present  dispensation  its  use  is  limited  to  His 
work  for  individuals  only,  and  is  vouchsafed  to 
them  upon  one  definite  condition.  Too  much  em- 
phasis cannot  be  placed  on  the  fact  that  now, 
according  to  the  Bible,  salvation  is  the  result  of 
the  work  of  God  for  the  individual,  rather  than 
the  work  of  the  individual  for  God,  or  even  the 
work  of  the  individual  for  himself.  Eventually 
the  one  who  is  saved  by  the  power  of  God  may, 
after  that  divine  work  is  accomplished,  do  "good 
works"  for  God ;  for  salvation  is  said  to  be  "unto 
good  works"  (Eph.  2 : 10)  and  those  who  "be- 
lieved" are  to  be  "careful  to  maintain  good 
works"  (Tit.  3:8).  Good  works  are  evidently 
made  possible  by  salvation ;  but  these  good  works, 
which  follow  salvation,  do  not  add  anything  to 
the  all-sufficient  and  perfect  saving  work  of  God. 
As  used  in  the  New  Testament,  the  word  sal- 
vation may  indicate  all  or  a  part  of  the  divine 
undertaking.  When  the  reference  is  to  all  of  the 
work  of  God,  the  whole  transformation  is  in  view 
from  the  estate  wherein  one  is  lost  and  condemned 
to  the  final  appearance  of  that  one  in  the  image 
of  Christ  in  glory.  This  larger  use  of  the  word, 
therefore,  combines  in  it  many  separate  works 


2  Salvation 

of  God  for  the  individual,  such  as  Atonement, 
Grace,  Propitiation,  Forgiveness,  Justification, 
Imputation,  Eegeneration,  Adoption,  Sanctifica- 
tion,  Redemption  and  Glorification.  The  two 
following  passages  describe  the  estate  from  which 
and  the  estate  into  which  the  individual  is  saved : 
"Wherefore  remember,  that  ye  being  in  times 
past  Gentiles  in  the  flesh,  who  are  called  Uncir- 
cumcision  by  that  which  is  called  the  Circumci- 
sion in  the  flesh  made  by  hands;  that  at  that 
time  ye  were  without  Christ,  being  aliens  from 
the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  and  strangers  from 
the  covenants  of  promise,  having  no  hope,  and 
without  God  in  the  world"  (Eph.  2:11,  12). 
"Behold,  what  manner  of  love  the  Father  hath 
bestowed  upon  us,  that  we  should  be  called  the 
sons  of  God:  therefore  the  world  knoweth  us  not, 
because  it  knew  Him  not.  Beloved,  now  are  we 
the  sons  of  God,  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what 
we  shall  be:  but  we  know  that,  when  he  shall 
appear,  we  shall  be  like  him;  for  we  shall  see 
him  as  he  is"  (1  Jno.  3:1-2).  There  could  be 
no  greater  contrast  of  possible  estates  for  man 
than  those  described  in  these  passages. 

This  transformation,  it  must  be  conceded, 
rather  than  representing  the  greatest  thing  im- 
potent man  can  do  for  God,  represents  the  great- 
est thing  the  infinite  God  can  do  for  man;  for 
there  is  nothing  to  be  conceived  of  beyond  the 
estate  to  which  this  salvation  brings  one,  namely, 
"like  Christ"  and  "conformed  to  the  image  of 
his  Son." 

Much  of  the  whole  divine  undertaking  in  sal- 


The  Word  Salvation  3 

vation  is  accomplished  in  the  saved  one  at  the 
moment  he  exercises  saving  faith.  So,  also,  some 
portions  of  this  work  are  in  the  form  of  a  process 
of  transformation  after  the  first  work  is  wholly 
accomplished.  And,  again,  there  is  a  phase  of 
the  divine  undertaking  which  is  revealed  as  con- 
sumating  the  whole  work  of  God  at  the  moment 
of  its  completion.  This  last  aspect  of  salvation 
is  wholly  future. 

Salvation,  then,  in  the  present  dispensation, 
may  be  considered  in  three  tenses  as  it  is  revealed 
in  the  Scriptures:  the  past,  or  that  part  of  the 
work  which  already  is  wholly  accomplished  in 
and  for  the  one  who  has  believed;  the  present,  or 
that  which  is  now  being  accomplished  in  and  for 
the  one  who  has  believed;  and  the  future,  or  that 
which  will  be  accomplished  to  complete  the  work 
of  God  in  and  for  the  one  who  has  believed. 

The  following  passages  are  clear  statements  of 
these  various  aspects  of  the  one  divine  under- 
taking : 

I.  The  child  of  God  was  saved  from  the  guilt 
and  penalty  of  sin  when  he  believed:  "And  he 
said  to  the  woman,  Thy  faith  hath  saved  thee; 
go  in  peace"  (Lk.  7 :  50)  ;  "And  brought  them 
out,  and  said,  Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved? 
And  they  said,  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  thou  shalt  be  saved  and  thy  house"  (Acts 
16:  30,  31)  ;  "For  the  preaching  of  the  cross  is 
to  them  that  perish  foolishness ;  but  unto  us  which 
are  saved  it  is  the  power  of  God"  (1  Cor.  1:18); 
"For  we  are  unto  God  a  sweet  savour  of  Christ, 
in  them  that  are  saved,  and  in  them  that  perish" 


4  Salvation 

(2  Cor.  2:15);  "For  by  grace  are  ye  saved 
through  faith;  and  that  not  of  yourselves:  it  is 
the  gift  of  God"  (Eph.  2:8);  "Who  hath  saved 
us,  and  called  us  with  an  holy  calling,  not  accord- 
ing to  our  works,  but  according  to  his  own  pur- 
pose and  grace,  which  was  given  us  in  Christ 
Jesus  before  the  world  began"  (2  Tim.  1:9). 

II.  The  child  of  God,  constituted  such  through 
belief,  is  being  saved  from  the  power  and  domi- 
nation of  sin  on  the   same  principle  of  faith: 
"Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth:  thy  word  is 
truth"   (Jno.  17:17);  "For  sin  shall  not  have 
dominion  over  you :  for  ye  are  not  under  the  law, 
but  under  grace"  (Rom.  6 :  14)  ;  "Wherefore,  my 
beloved,  as  ye  have  always  obeyed,  not  as  in  my 
presence  only,  but  now  much  more  in  my  absence, 
work  out  your  own  salvation  with  fear  and  trem- 
bling.    For  it  is  God  which  worketh  in  you  both 
to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure"   (Phil. 
2: 12,  13)  ;  "For  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in 
Christ  Jesus  hath  made  me  free  from  the  law  of 
sin  and  death"   (Rom.  8:2);  "This  I  say  then, 
Walk  in  the  Spirit,  and  ye  shall  not  fulfil  the  lust 
of  the  flesh"  (Gal.  5:16). 

III.  The  child  of  God,  begotten  as  such  through 
belief,  is  yet  to  be  saved  from  the  presence  of 
sin  into  the  presence  of  God:    "And  that,  know- 
ing the  time,  that  now  it  is  high  time  to  awake 
out  of  sleep :  for  now  is  our  salvation  nearer  than 
when  we  believed"   (Rom.  13:11);  "Blessed  be 
the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
which  according  to  his  abundant  mercy  hath  be- 
gotten us  again  unto  a  lively  hope  by  the  resur- 


The  Word  Salvation  5 

rection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead.  To  an 
inheritance  incorruptible,  and  undefiled,  and  that 
f adeth  not  away,  reserved  in  heaven  for  you,  who 
are  kept  by  the  power  of  God  through  faith  unto 
salvation  ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last  time" 
(1  Pet.  1:3-5);  "Behold,  what  manner  of  love 
the  Father  hath  bestowed  upon  us,  that  we  should 
be  called  the  sons  of  God:  therefore  the  world 
knoweth  us  not,  because  it  knew  him  not.  Be- 
loved now  are  we  the  sons  of  God,  and  it  doth 
not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be:  but  we  know 
that,  when  he  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  him; 
for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is"  (1  Jno.  3: 1-2). 
So,  again,  there  are  passages  in  which  these 
various  time  aspects  in  salvation  are  all  com- 
bined: "Being  confident  of  this  very  thing,  that 
he  which  hath  begun  a  good  work  in  you  will  per- 
form it  until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ"  (Phil. 
1:6);  "But  of  him  are  ye  in  Christ  Jesus,  who 
of  God  is  made  unto  us  wisdom,  and  righteous- 
ness, and  sanctification,  and  redemption"  (1  Cor. 
1 :  30)  ;  "Even  as  Christ  also  loved  the  church, 
and  gave  himself  for  it;  that  he  might  sanctify 
and  cleanse  it  with  the  washing  of  water  by  the 
word.  That  he  might  present  it  to  himself  a 
glorious  church,  not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or 
any  such  thing;  but  that  it  should  be  holy  and 
without  blemish"  (Eph.  5;  25-27), 


CHAPTER  II 

GOD'S  ESTIMATE  OF  THE  LOST 

AT  NO  point  is  faith  more  tested  than  in  receiv- 
ing the  divine  estimate  of  the  present  estate  and 
destiny  of  all  who  are  not  saved;  yet  the  record 
stands  on  the  sacred  page  and  is  as  much  a  part 
of  God's  revelation  of  truth  as  is  the  more  win- 
some disclosure  concerning  the  saved  and  heaven. 
In  vain  does  man  struggle  to  deliver  himself  from 
the  dread  and  shadow  of  the  former  while  still 
attempting  to  retain  the  comfort  and  light  of  the 
latter.  Even  a  blinded,  unregenerate  mind  must 
be  convinced  of  the  unreasonableness  of  selecting 
only  desirable  elements  out  of  the  unitive  whole 
of  divine  revelation.  If  man  can  dispose  of  the 
dark  picture  which  describes  the  estate  of  the  lost, 
he  has,  by  that  process,  surrendered  all  claim  to 
authority  and  all  ground  of  assurance  in  those 
Scriptures  which  describe  the  estate  of  the  saved. 
Man  is  prone  to  disregard  the  plain  boundary 
lines  of  distinction  between  the  saved  and  the 
unsaved  as  indicated  in  the  Bible.  He  is  natu- 
rally occupied  with  the  temporal  things  that  are 
seen,  and  is  by  nature  blind  to  the  eternal  things 
(1  Cor.  2:  14;  2  Cor.  4:  3,  4;  Jno.  3:3)  which 
are  not  seen.  He  is  inclined  to  conceive  of  sal- 
vation as  resulting  from  a  manner  of  daily  life, 
both  moral  and  religious,  rather  than  a  state 
wrought  by  the  creative  power  of  God.  An  ap- 
peal for  a  reformed  manner  of  life  is  to  him 
"practical"  and  "reasonable,"  and  he  sees  little 
6 


God's  Estimate  of  the  Lost          7 

value  in  the  Biblical  appeal  for  personal  faith 
in  the  saving  power  and  grace  of  God.  A  saved 
person,  by  his  new  life  from  God,  may  live  on  a 
higher  plane,  and  certainly  will;  but  to  attempt 
to  live  on  a  higher  plain  will  not,  and  cannot, 
impart  the  new  life,  or  save  a  lost  soul.  The 
unsaved,  according  to  the  Bible,  include  all  who 
have  not  been  accepted  by  God  through  a  per- 
sonal trust  in  the  crucified  and  risen  Saviour.  All 
moral  and  religious  people  are  not,  therefore,  ac- 
cording to  the  divine  conditions,  to  be  counted 
among  the  saved.  Paul  prayed  for  Israel  "that 
they  might  be  saved"  (Rom.  10: 1,  2),  and  those 
for  whom  he  prayed,  it  should  be  remembered, 
were  the  very  ones  of  whom  he  wrote  in  this  same 
passage  that  they  had  "a  zeal  for  God"  and  went 
about  "to  establish  their  own  righteousness."  We 
know,  also,  that  they  fasted,  and  prayed,  and 
gave  a  tithe  of  all  they  possessed;  yet,  in  spite  of 
all  this,  the  faithful,  inspired  Apostle  prays  that 
they  might  be  saved.  To  be  saved  was  evidently, 
in  the  Apostle's  mind,  more  than  the  diligent 
effort  along  the  lines  of  moral  and  religious 
practices. 

The  Bible  sharply  distinguishes  between  the 
saved  and  the  unsaved,  and  in  its  classification, 
of  necessity,  wholly  ignores  what  may  seem  rea- 
sonable or  unreasonable  in  the  sphere  of  human 
life.  It  bases  its  distinctions  on  the  eternal  neces- 
sities and  provisions  within  the  larger  sphere  of 
the  kingdom  of  God.  Here  the  important  issues 
of  conduct  and  service  are  not  first  to  be  consid- 
ered. The  deeper  reality  of  an  entire  new  nature 


8  Salvation 

is  rather  the  primary  objective,  and  no  good  works 
can  take  its  place.  It  is  as  terrible  for  a  church 
member,  or  minister,  to  be  lost  as  for  any  one 
else.  Certainly  there  is  nothing  in  the  fact  of 
church  membership,  ordinances,  or  the  preaching 
profession  that  can  take  the  place  of  the  Biblical 
requirement  for  salvation,  or  mitigate  the  final 
doom  that  is  assured  to  those  who  reject  the 
Saviour.  The  five  virgins  who  possessed  every 
outward  appearance  and  profession  were,  never- 
theless, without  the  oil  which  is  the  symbol  of  the 
divine  life.  In  spite  of  all  their  religious  exter- 
nals they  heard  it  said,  "I  know  you  not."  "Not 
every  one  that  saith  unto  me,  Lord,  Lord,  shall 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven;  but  he  that 
doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 
Many  will  say  to  me  in  that  day,  Lord,  Lord, 
have  we  not  prophesied  in  thy  name?  and  in  thy 
name  have  cast  out  devils  ?  and  in  thy  name  done 
many  wonderful  works  ?  And  then  will  I  profess 
unto  them,  I  never  knew  you:  depart  from  me, 
ye  that  work  iniquity"  (Mt.  7:  21-23).  "Jesus 
answered  and  said  unto  them,  This  is  the  work 
of  God,  that  ye  believe  on  him  whom  he  hath 
sent"  (Jno.  6:29). 

The  estate  of  the  unsaved  is  described  in  the 
Bible  by  positive  terms:  "For  the  Son  of  man 
is  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost" 
(Lk.  19 : 10)  ;  "For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that 
he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  ever- 
lasting life";  "He  that  believeth  on  him  is  not 
condemned :  but  he  that  believeth  not  is  condemned 


God's  Estimate  of  the  Lost  9 

already,  because  he  hath  not  believed  in  the  name 
of  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God.  And  this  is 
the  condemnation  that  light  is  come  into  the  world, 
and  men  loved  darkness  rather  than  light,  be- 
cause their  deeds  were  evil.  For  every  one  that 
doeth  evil  hateth  the  light,  neither  cometh  to  the 
light,  lest  his  deeds  should  be  reproved"  (Jno. 
3:16,  18-20).  "He  that  believeth  on  the  Son 
hath  everlasting  life:  and  he  that  believeth  not 
the  Son  shall  not  see  life;  but  the  wrath  of  God 
abideth  on  him"  (Jno.  3:  36).  "Ye  are  of  your 
father  the  devil,  and  the  lusts  of  your  father  ye 
will  do.  He  was  a  murderer  from  the  beginning, 
and  abode  not  in  the  truth,  because  there  is  no 
truth  in  him.  When  he  speaketh  a  lie,  he  speak- 
eth  of  his  own :  for  he  is  a  liar,  and  the  father  of 
it"  (Jno.  8 : 44) ;  "Wherein  in  time  past  ye 
walked  according  to  the  course  of  this  world,  ac- 
cording to  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air,  the 
spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  children  of  dis- 
obedience" (Eph.  2:2);  "For  from  within,  out 
of  the  heart  of  men,  proceed  evil  thoughts,  adul- 
teries, fornications,  murders,  thefts,  covetousness, 
wickedness,  deceit,  lasciviousness,  an  evil  eye, 
blasphemy,  pride,  foolishness :  all  these  evil  things 
come  from  within,  and  defile  the  man"  (Mk. 
7:21-23). 

In  Eph.  2 :  1-2  the  contrast  between  the  saved 
and  the  unsaved  is  first  drawn  at  the  point  of 
possessing  or  not  possessing  the  divine  life :  "And 
you  hath  he  quickened,  who  were  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins;  wherein  in  time  past  ye  walked 
according  to  the  course  of  this  world,  according 


10  Salvation 

to  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air,  the  spirit 
that  now  worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience." 
This  death  is  not  physical,  for  the  dead  ones  are 
said  to  be  "walking  according  to  the  course  of 
this  world,"  the  aspirations  of  which  walk  are 
centered  in  the  things  of  the  world  system.  They 
are  also  said  to  be  "walking  according  to  the 
prince  of  the  power  of  the  air  (Satan),  the  spirit 
that  now  worketh  in  (energizeth)  the  children  of 
disobedience."  This  classification,  "the  children 
of  disobedience,"  includes  all  who  have  not  been 
"made  alive"  by  the  power  of  God.  Disobedience 
here  is  a  state  of  being  and  is  federal  rather  than 
personal.  "By  one  man's  disobedience  (Adam) 
many  were  made  sinners."  So,  also,  "by  the 
obedience  of  one  (Christ)  shall  many  be  made 
righteous."  Thus  the  acceptableness  of  the  saved 
one  is  also  a  state  and  is  federal  rather  than 
personal.  He  being  in  Christ  is  a  child  of  obe- 
dience ;  the  unsaved  one  being  in  Adam  is  a  child 
of  disobedience.  In  Adam  disobedient  and  lost; 
in  Christ  obedient,  righteous  and  acceptable  to 
God  (Kom.  5:19;  Eph.  1:6).  "He  became 
obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross." 
Before  the  infinite  holiness  of  God  no.  person, 
saved  or  unsaved,  can  rightfully  claim,  within 
his  own  merit,  to  be  obedient  and  righteous  in  the 
sight  of  God;  yet  the  weakest  person  who  stands 
in  Christ  is,  by  virtue  of  that  position,  a  child 
of  obedience  in  the  sight  of  God. 

In  all  the  children  of  disobedience,  regardless 
of  professions  or  conduct,  Satan  is  here  said  to 
be  the  energizing  power.  The  energy  of  this 


God's  Estimate  of  the  Lost         11 

mighty  being  may  inspire  refinement,  education, 
culture,  and  the  externals  of  religion,  for  it  is 
not  against  these  external  virtues  that  Satan  is 
opposed.  His  enmity  is  intelligently  directed 
against  the  saving  grace  of  God,  which  is  a  widely 
differing  issue  from  that  which  the  problems  of 
personal  conduct  present. 

Satan  is  said  to  be  energizing  the  unsaved 
within  all  the  spheres  of  their  present  activity.  In 
like  manner,  the  saved  are  said  to  be  energized 
by  God:  "For  it  is  God  which  worketh  in  you 
both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure"  (Phil. 
2: 13).  The  testimony  of  these  two  passages  is 
to  the  effect  that  there  is  now  no  such  thing  as 
an  independent  human  life.  Men  are  either  en- 
ergized by  God  or  by  Satan,  and  accordingly  as 
they  are  saved  or  unsaved. 

The  estate  of  the  unsaved  is  revealed  again 
in  Col.  1:13:  "Who  hath  delivered  us  from  the 
power  of  darkness,  and  hath  translated  us  into 
the  kingdom  of  his  dear  Son."  Until  this  divine 
transformation  is  wrought,  man  must  be  consid- 
ered as  yet  in  the  "powers  of  darkness."  This 
revelation  is  given  in  other  passages:  "Jesus  an- 
swered and  said  unto  him,  "Verily,  verily,  I  say 
unto  thee,  Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  can- 
not see  the  kingdom  of  God"  (Jno.  3:3);  "But 
the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the 
Spirit  of  God :  for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him : 
neither  can  he  know  them,  because  they  are  spir- 
itually discerned"  (1  Cor.  2 : 14) ;  "But  if  our 
gospel  be  hid,  it  is  hid  to  them  that  are  lost:  in 
whom  the  god  of  this  world  hath  blinded  the 


12  Salvation 

minds  of  them  which  believe  not,  lest  the  light 
of  the  glorious  gospel  of  Christ,  who  is  the  image 
of  God,  should  shine  unto  them"  (2  Cor.  4:  3,  4)  ; 
"We  know  that  we  are  of  God,  and  the  whole 
world  lieth  in  the  evil  one"  (1  Jno.  5 : 19,  R.  V.)  ; 
"At  that  time  ye  were  without  Christ,  being  aliens 
from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  and  strangers 
from  the  covenants  of  promise,  having  no  hope, 
and  without  God  in  the  world"  (Eph.  2:12); 
"Being  filled  with  all  unrighteousness,  fornica- 
tion, wickedness,  covetousness,  maliciousness;  full 
of  envy,  murder,  debate,  deceit,  malignity;  whis- 
perers, backbiters,  haters  of  God,  despiteful, 
proud,  boasters,  inventors  of  evil  things,  disobe- 
dient to  parents,  without  understanding,  covenant- 
breakers,  without  natural  affection,  implacable, 
unmerciful:  who  knowing  the  judgment  of  God, 
that  they  which  commit  such  things  are  worthy 
of  death,  not  only  do  the  same,  but  have  pleasure 
in  them  that  do  them"  (Rom.  1:  29-32)  ;  "As  it 
is  written,  There  is  none  righteous,  no,  not  one: 
there  is  none  that  understandeth,  there  is  none 
that  seeketh  after  God.  They  are  all  gone  out  of 
the  way,  they  are  together  become  unprofitable; 
there  is  none  that  doeth  good,  no,  not  one.  Their 
throat  is  an  open  sepulchre;  with  their  tongues 
they  have  used  deceit ;  the  poison  of  asps  is  under 
their  lips :  whose  mouth  is  full  of  cursing  and  bit- 
terness :  their  feet  are  swift  to  shed  blood :  destruc- 
tion and  misery  are  in  their  ways:  and  the  way 
of  peace  have  they  not  known :  there  is  no  fear  of 
God  before  their  eyes"  (Rom.  3:10-18);  "Now 
the  works  of  the  flesh  are  manifest,  which  are 


God's  Estimate  of  the  Lost         13 

these:  Adultery,  fornication,  uncleanness,  lascivi- 
ousness,  idolatry,  witchcraft,  hatred,  variance, 
emulations,  wrath,  strife,  seditions,  heresies,  envy- 
ings,  murders,  drunkenness,  revellings,  and  such 
like"  (Gal.  5:19-21);  "God  saw  that  the  wick- 
edness of  man  was  great  in  the  earth,  and  that 
every  imagination  of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  was 
only  evil  continually"  (Gen.  6:5);  "Behold,  I 
was  shapen  in  iniquity ;  and  in  sin  did  my  mother 
conceive  me"  (Psa.  51:  5)  ;  "The  heart  is  deceit- 
ful above  all  things,  and  desperately  wicked:  who 
can  know  it?"  (Jer.  17:9);  "From  within,  out 
of  the  heart  of  men,  proceed  evil  thoughts,  adul- 
teries, fornications,  murders,  thefts,  covetousness, 
wickedness,  deceit,  lasciviousness,  an  evil  eye, 
blasphemy,  pride,  foolishness"  (Mk.  7:21,  22); 
"That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh"  (Jno. 
3:6);  "Because  the  mind  of  the  flesh  is  enmity 
against  God;  for  it  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of 
God,  neither  indeed  can  it  be"  (Rom.  8 : 7, 
B.  V.)  ;  "And  you  hath  he  quickened  who  were 
dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  *  *  *  and  were  by 
nature  the  children  of  wrath  even  as  others" 
(Eph.  2:1,  3)  ;  "There  is  not  a  just  man  upon 
earth,  that  doeth  good,  and  sinneth  not"  (Ec. 
7:  20)  ;  "We  are  all  as  an  unclean  thing,  and  all 
our  righteousnesses  are  as  filthy  rags"  (Isa. 
64:6). 

After  this  manner  the  Bible  reveals  the  pres- 
ent estate  of  the  unsaved,  and  upon  the  above  lines 
of  distinction  which  are  outside  the  sphere  of 
this  world.  Every  condition  presented  in  these 
passages  demands  a  superhuman  power  for  its 


14  Salvation 

cure.  Men  are  not  said  to  be  lost  in  the  eyes 
of  their  fellow-men,  or  as  measured  by  the  stand- 
ards of  the  institutions  of  the  world.  They  are 
lost  in  the  sight  of  a  Holy  God,  with  Whom  they 
finally  have  to  do,  and  under  the  conditions  that 
exist  and  are  effective  in  a  larger  sphere.  In  like 
manner,  men  are  not  saved  by  an  adjustment 
to  the  estimates  and  conclusions  of  the  lim- 
ited world  of  fallen  humanity,  or  by  what  may 
seem  to  them  to  be  reasonable  or  unreasonable. 
Salvation  is  not  a  human  undertaking.  It  did  not 
originate  in  this  sin-cursed  world.  It  is  of  God 
and  unto  God,  and  hence  moves  along  lines  and 
under  conditions  and  necessities  which  are  of  a 
higher  realm.  To  be  saved  one  must  see  him- 
self as  God  sees  him,  and  adapt  himself  to  the 
divine  principles  of  another  world,  which  prin- 
ciples have  been  faithfully  revealed  in  the  writ- 
ten Word.  A  man  of  faith  is  one  who  thus  adapts 
himself  to  the  revelation  of  God;  one  who  is 
instructed  by  and  acts  on  the  unfolding  of  facts 
revealed  by  God  which  would  otherwise  be  un- 
known through  human  understanding. 

It  was  this  divine  estimate  of  humanity,  de- 
scribed by  the  words  "lost,"  "perish,"  "con- 
demned," "under  the  wrath  of  God,"  "blind," 
"in  the  powers  of  darkness,"  "dead  in  trespasses 
and  sins,"  which  brought  the  Saviour  from  heaven 
to  earth.  It  was  this  dark  picture  that  impelled 
Him  to  give  His  life  a  ransom  for  many.  His 
saving  work  was  a  practical  accomplishment.  It 
has  provided  every  needed  cure  that  could  be  de- 
manded by  the  infinite  purity  and  holiness  of  God. 


THE  THREE-EOLD  MESSAGE  OF  THE 
CROSS 

THE  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  opens  with  a  ref- 
erence to  the  messages  of  God  which  have  been 
projected  into  this  world,  and  which  have  wid- 
ened the  possible  scope  of  man's  understanding 
and  action  from  the  limitations  of  the  things  of 
this  world  and  the  conclusions  of  finite  minds  to 
the  issues  of  the  entire  sphere  of  God's  redemp- 
tive purposes  and  the  verities  of  the  Infinite. 
God  has  spoken.  The  effect  of  the  message  has 
been  far  reaching.  Men  generally  believe  in  cer- 
tain facts  the  knowledge  of  which  could  come 
only  from  the  Scriptures  of  Truth;  but  men  do 
not  always  pause  to  consider  all  of  God's  message 
and  its  personal  application  to  them  with  its  nec- 
essary demands  upon  their  faith.  They  believe 
in  the  Bible  heaven,  but  do  not  carefully  consider 
the  only  condition  the  Bible  reveals  upon  which 
any  soul  can  enter  therein;  they  believe  in  the 
fact  of  sin,  but  seem  to  care  little  for  the  price- 
less cure  divinely  set  forth  for  it;  they  believe 
there  is  a  holy  God  and  that  men  are  sinners,  but 
do  not  estimate  what  problems  were  involved  in 
bringing  about  a  possible  reconciliation  between 
that  holy  God  and  the  meritless  sinner:  yet  how 
faithfully  God  has  spoken  on  all  these  issues !  It 
is  not  enough  to  believe  generally  that  God  has 

15 


16  Salvation 

spoken.  What  He  has  said  must  be  carefully 
weighed  and  personally  applied.  His  message  is 
as  a  shaft  of  light  from  the  eternal  sphere  shin- 
ing into  a  world  where  sin's  darkness  and  blind- 
ness are  supreme.  Happy  indeed  is  the  man  who 
humbly  receives  every  word  God  has  spoken  both 
of  sin  and  salvation,  and  is  thus  able  to  look 
into  the  realms  of  glory  along  this  radiant  shaft 
of  divine  revelation.  The  following  are  the  open- 
ing words  to  the  letter  to  the  Hebrews : 

"God  who  at  sundry  times  and  in  divers  man- 
ners spake  in  time  past  unto  the  fathers  by  the 
prophets,  hath  in  these  last  days  spoken  unto  us 
by  his  Son."  The  message  from  God  spoken  to 
the  fathers  by  the  prophets  is  contained  in  the 
Old  Testament.  The  message  spoken  to  us  by 
His  Son  and  which  was  confirmed  unto  us  by  them 
that  heard  Him,  is  contained  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. This  latter  message  is  primarily  of  "So 
great  salvation"  which  in  no  wise  can  be  neglected 
with  impunity. 

God  has  disclosed  His  own  essential  being 
through  His  Son.  In  this  revelation  which  He 
has  made  through  His  Son,  God  is  said  to  be 
Light,  Life  and  Love,  or  Wisdom,  Power  and 
Love.  Christ  was  an  outshining  of  these  elements 
which  are  in  the  being  of  God,  and  that  mani- 
festation of  His  being  through  the  Son  was  made 
in  terms  which  the  finite  mind  might  grasp.  Men 
of  Christ's  time,  from  their  study  of  Him,  were 
able  to  say:  "No  man  ever  spake  as  this  man," 
and  "We  know  that  thou  art  a  teacher  come  from 
God:  for  no  man  can  do  the  miracles  that  thou 


The  Three-fold  Message  of  the  Cross     17 

doest,  except  God  be  with  him."  So  the  wisdom 
and  power  of  God  were  recognized  in  Christ ;  but 
the  wisdom  and  power  of  God  had  already  a 
sufficient  revelation  in  the  very  things  that  were 
created,  so  that  even  the  heathen  world  is  with- 
out excuse.  "Because  that  which  may  be  known 
of  God  is  manifest  in  them ;  for  God  hath  shewed 
it  unto  them.  For  the  invisible  things  of  him 
from  the  creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen, 
being  understood  by  the  things  that  are  made,  even 
his  eternal  power  and  Godhead;  so  that  they  are 
without  excuse"  (Rom.  1:  19,  20). 

S  At  least  three  messages  from  God  through  His 

'    Son  are  revealed  in  the  cross : 

LOVE 

In  Jno.  1 : 18  a  special  manifestation  of  God 
through  the  Son  is  mentioned:  "No  man  hath 
seen  God  at  any  time;  the  only  begotten  Son, 
which  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  he  hath  de- 
clared him."  "No  man  hath  (fully)  seen  God  at 
any  time"  would  indicate  that  while  His  power 
and  wisdom  had  been  revealed  to  some  extent  by 
the  things  created,  the  complete  revelation  had 
not  been  given  and  there  was  to  be  a  very  spe- 
cial unfolding  of  His  bosom  of  love.  The  Son 
was  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father  (the  seat  of  the 
affections;  from  that  bosom  He  never  departed). 
"For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his 
only  begotten  Son." 

Every  moment  of  the  earth  life  of  Jesus  was 
a  manifestation  of  God's  love,  but  one  event  in 
the  ministry  of  Jesus  is  especially  designated  as 


18  Salvation 

the  means  by  which  the  bosom  of  God  was  unveiled. 
"Hereby  perceive  we  the  love  of  God,  because  he 
laid  down  his  life  for  us"  (1  Jno.  3: 16)  ;  "In 
this  was  manifested  the  love  of  God  toward  us, 
because  that  God  sent  his  only  begotten  Son  into 
the  world,  that  we  might  live  through  him.  Herein 
is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that  he  loved 
us  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  a  propitiation  for  our 
sins"  (1  Jno.  4:9,  10);  "But  God  commendeth 
his  love  toward  us,  in  that,  while  we  were  yet  sin- 
ners, Christ  died  for  us"  (Eom.  5:8).  In  the 
cross  of  Christ,  therefore,  God  hath  declared  His 
love,  and  this  declaration  is  addressed  as  a  per- 
sonal message  to  every  individual.  It  may  be  con- 
cluded that  when  that  divine  message  really 
reaches  a  heart  that  individual  will  thereby  be- 
come conscious  of  a  fact  far  beyond  the  range  of 
human  knowledge  and  so  far  reaching  in  its  value 
that  it  transcends  all  other  issues  in  life  and 
death.  It  becomes  intensely  personal  according 
to  the  testimony  of  the  apostle:  "Who  loved  me 
and  gave  himself  for  me."  That  knowledge- 
surpassing  love  is  proven  and  expressed  to  "me" 
by  the  fact  that  He  gave  Himself  for^  "mg."  The 
vital  question  at  onceTecomes,  what  did  He  do 
for  "me"  ?  The  Scriptures  make  it  plain  that 
He  did  enough  to  demonstrate  finally  and  per- 
fectly the  infinite  love  of  God.  "Hereby  per- 
ceive we  the  love  of  God  because  he  laid  down  his 
life  for  us."  This  is  more  than  a  moral  ex- 
ample: it  is  a  distinct  service  rendered,  and  on 
so  vast  a  scale  that  it  adequately  expresses  the 
deepest  message  from  the  Father's  bosom.  The 


The  Three-fold  Message  of  the  Cross     19. 


message  must  be  understood  by  those  to  whom  it 
is  addressed,  but  not  necessarily  by  the  processes 
of  mere  human  reason.  The  cross  of  Christ  was 
the  final  answer  to  the  great  necessities  and  prob- 
lems which  sin  had  imposed  on  the  very  heart  of 
God.  This  is  revealed,  and  is  knowable  only  to 
the  extent  to  which  God  has  spoken,  and  never 
because  man  has  examined  and  analyzed  the  heart 
of  the  Infinite.  Human  philosophy  and  blind  un- 
belief have  woven  many  veils  which  have  tended 
to  obscure  God's  plain  revelation.  The  condi- 
tions which  moved  the  heart  of  God  exist  in  the 
higher  realm  and  have  no  comparisons  or  coun- 
terparts in  the  range  of  human  knowledge,  hence 
human  reason  cannot  be  deemed  sufficient  to  judge 
or  challenge  that  which  God  has  seen  fit  to  reveal. 
Anything  which  adequately  represents  the  infinite 
love  of  God  will  hardly  be  compressed  into  the 
limitations  of  man's  wisdom.  It  is  most  prob- 
able that  eternity  itself  will  prove  to  be  but  a 
ceaseless  unfolding  of  that  fathomless  expression 
of  boundless  love.  Even  now  that  divine  expres- 
sion of  love  in  the  cross  becomes  the  source  of 
supreme  ecstasy  to  the  one  who  has  received  the 
message  into  his  heart.  "God  forbid  that  I  should 
glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 
In  striking  contrast  to  this,  the  unsaved  person, 
either  Jew  or  Gentile,  finds  no  attraction  what- 
ever, in  the  same  cross.  "For  the  preaching  of 
the  cross  is  to  them  that  perish  foolishness;  but 
unto  us  which  are  saved  it  is  the  power  of  God." 
That  something  of  eternal  value  to  lost  human- 
ity was  accomplished  in  the  cross  is  clearly  re- 


7 


20  Salvation 

vealed.  Just  how  much  was  accomplished  could 
not  be  fully  revealed.  However,  some  things  are 
made  plain.  The  eternal  issue  of  sin  was  called 
into  question  at  Calvary's  cross,  and  a  sufficient 
Substitute  stood  in  the  sinner's  place  until  all 
grounds  of  condemnation  were  forever  past  and 
every  righteous  judgment  of  God  was  perfectly 
met.  Human  wisdom  has  sometimes  challenged 
this  revelation  on  the  supposed  grounds  that  it 
would  be  immoral  for  God  to  lay  on  an  inno- 
cent victim  the  condemnation  that  belongs  to  an- 
other. This  might  be  true  if  it  could  be  dis- 
covered that  the  innocent  One  was  an  unwilling 
victim;  but  on  this  point  every  doubt  is  forever 
dispelled.  In  Heb.  10 : 1-14,  where  the  sin- 
offerings  of  the  Old  Testament  are  held  in  con- 
trast to  the  one  offering  of  Christ,  the  Lord  is 
recorded  as  saying,  "Then  said  I,  Lo,  I  am  come, 
to  do  thy  will  O  God."  So  at  the  time  of  His 
crucifixion,  He  said  to  His  Father:  "Neverthe- 
less not  my  will,  but  thine,  be  done." 

But  there  is  a  still  deeper  truth  to  be  consid- 
ered when  the  challenge  is  made  that  the  substi- 
tutionary  death  of  Christ  is  an  "immoral  thing." 
"God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto 
himself."  Shall  not  the  infinite  God  be  morally 
free  to  bear  on  His  own  breast  the  doom  of  the 
one  His  infinite  love  would  save?  Would  not  a 
mother  be  morally  justified  who  had  flung  herself 
between  her  child  and  the  fire  ?  Would  the  child 
be  justified  in  later  years,  when  gazing  on  those 
frightful  scars,  to  deem  that  love-act  as  an  im- 
moral thing?  What  Christ  bore  we  are  saved 


The  Three-fold  Message  of  the  Cross    21 

from  bearing.  His  work  was  effective.  "He  died 
for  me" :  not  to  shew  me  how  to  die.  He  died  that 
I  migKt  not  die.  God's  love,  in  expressing  itself 
to  human  hearts,  provided  a  substitute  for  them 
in  their  sin  judgments  the  issues  of  which  reach 
out  into  infinity.  This,  we  are  told,  is  what  di- 
vine love  did.  Who  can  measure  the  blasphemy 
of  those  who  speak  of  this  love-expression  as  an 
"immoral  thing"  ?  So  fallen  is  the  heart  of  Tin- 
regenerate  man  that  he  will  even  attempt  to  in- 
criminate by  a  charge  of  immorality  the  very  God 
Who  seeks  to  save  him  from  his  doom. 

The  cross  of  Christ,  though  unveiling  the  heart 
of  God  in  a  moment  of  time,  was,  nevertheless, 
the  expression  of  that  which  is  eternal  in  that 
heart.  Christ  was  "a  Lamb  slain  from  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world."  What  God  did  for  sinners, 
therefore,  is  an  expression  of  His  constant  atti- 
tude toward  them.  The  cross  is  an  assurance  of 
the  undiminished  love  of  God  at  this  very  hour. 

Only  in  the  cross  has  God  perfectly  revealed 
His  love  to  sinful  man :  not  in  nature,  nor  in  the 
things  and  relationships  of  this  life;  for  these 
may  fail.  And  when  they  fail  the  stryken  heart 
that  has  trusted  these  outward  benefit!  alone  as 
the  evidence  of  God's  love  is  heard  %  say,  "it 
cannot  be  true  that  God  loves  met"  Cjjrod's  per- 
fect and  final  revelation  of  His  love  Is  in  and 
through  the  cross,  and  the  heart  to  $hom  this 
message  has  come  is  possessed  with  all  the  con- 
solations of  grace  in  the  midst  of  the  trials  and 
afflictions  of  life.  Such  a  one  can  say,  "though 
He  slay  me  yet  will  I  trust  Him."  In  these  last 


22  Salvation 

days  God  is  speaking  through  His  Son  of  His 
personal  love  for  each  individual.  Reader,  has 
God  said  anything  to  you  through  His  Son  ?  Can 
you  say  in  the  joy  of  that  greatest  of  all  mes- 
sages, "God  forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the 
cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ"  ?  If  the  cross 
has  not  become  this  to  you,  is  it  not  evidence  to 
you  that  you  are  neglecting  this  great  salvation 
in  spite  of  all  professions  and  good  intentions, 
and  from  the  unhappy  end  of  such  failure  there 
can  be  no  escape? 

SIN 

While  Christians  are  grateful  to  Christ  for 
what  He  did  in  His  death  for  them  on  the  cross, 
should  they  not  be  grateful  also  in  some  degree 
to  the  Roman  soldiers  who  put  Christ  to  death? 
This  question  has  been  raised  by  unbelief  and 
may  well  be  answered  by  first  discovering  just 
what  part  the  soldiers  took  in  that  great  event  as 
it  is  viewed  in  the  Bible.  In  Jno.  10 :  IT,  18  we 
read  that  Jesus  said:  "Therefore  doth  my  Father 
love  me,  because  I  lay  down  my  life,  that  I  might 
take  it  again,  ^No  man  taketh  it  from  me,  but  I  lay 
it  down  of  myself.  I  have  power  to  lay  it  down, 
and  I  have  power  to  take  it  again."  He  evidently 
made  no  resistance  at  the  moment  of  His  cruci- 
fixion, which  was  doubtless  in  great  contrast  to 
the  violent  struggles  of  the  two  thieves  and  wholly 
opposed  to  the  highest  ideal  of  that  time  when 
self-preservation  and  self-advancement  were  the 
first  consideration  of  all  men.  Whatever  else  took 
place,  no  man  took  His  life  from  Him.  So,  also, 


TKe  Three-fold  Message  of  the  Cross    23 

the  last  words  recorded  as  falling  from  His  lips 
on  the  cross  were  of  victory  and  authority. 
"Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  (deposit)  my 
spirit."  This  language  distinctly  indicates  that 
His  death  was  in  no  way  a  defeat  through  human 
force.  Not  one  reference  in  the  Bible,  outside  the 
mere  historical  statement  of  the  crucifixion,  ever 
assigns  this  death  to  human  sources.  It  is  rather 
indicated  that  God  the  Father  was  acting  in  that 
death.  "All  we  like  sheep  have  gone  astray;  we 
have  turned  every  one  to  his  own  way;  and  the 
LORD  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all" 
(Isa.  53:  6)  ;  "Whom  God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a 
propitiation  through  faith  in  his  blood"  (Rom. 
3:25);  "For  he  hath  made  him  to  be  sin  for 
us,  who  knew  no  sin;  that  we  might  be  made 
the  righteousness  of  God  in  him"  (2  Cor.  5:  21). 
The  soldiers  might  take  a  human  life;  but  God 
alone  could  accomplish  a  reconciliation  through 
Christ's  death  and  thereby  solve  the  great  prob- 
lems created  by  human  sin.  Christians  are  saved 
by  the  divine  reconciliation  alone,  and  no  grati- 
tude is  due  the  human  factors  in  the  death  of 
Christ. 

The  deed  of  the  soldiers  is  not  without  mean- 
ing, however.  From  the  first  sin  of  man  to  the 
present  hour  every  unregenerate  person  is  said 
to  be  at  enmity  toward  God.  That  enmity  is 
usually  covered  and  latent,  but  as  assuredly  exists 
as  the  Word  of  God  is  true.  It  was  the  will  of 
God  that  at  the  exact  time  and  place  when  and 
where  His  infinite  love  was  being  unveiled  there 
should  be  an  unveiling,  as  well,  of  the  desperate 


Salvation 

wickedness  of  man.  Every  human  act  in  the 
crucifixion  was  a  revelation  of  the  fallen  creature ; 
yet  to  crown  it  all,  one  man,  as  though  represent- 
ing a  fallen  race,  took  a  spear  and  drove  it  into 
the  heart  of  God.  The  deep  significance  here  lies 
in  the  inexplicable  fact  that  "God  was  in  Christ" 
and  that  this  human  act  was  in  reality  against 
the  person  of  God,  as  well  as  a  rejection  of  the 
human  presence  of  Christ  and  the  blessings  of 

A  grace  He  presented.    So  all  those  who  tarry  in  un- 
belief are  warned  that  in  so  doing  they  "crucify 
(   to  themselves  the  Son  of  God  afresh,  and  put  him 
'.vto  an  open  shame." 

Thus  no  man  can  be  ignorant  of  the  true  na- 
ture of  his  own  sinful  heart  who  has  honestly  faced 
the  meaning  of  the  sin  of  rejecting  Christ  as  en- 
acted in  the  crucifixion.  On  this  point  God  has 
spoken  through  His  Son.  Oh  the  sin  of  even 
hesitating  to  receive  the  marvels  of  God's  grace 
as  offered  to  lost  men  in  the  cross  of  Christ! 

RIGHTEOUSNESS 

The  cross  of  Christ  is  also  a  message  from  God 
in  that  it  is  said  to  be  a  declaration  of  the  right- 
eousness of  God.  "Whom  God  hath  set  forth  to 
be  a  propitiation  through  faith  in  his  blood,  to 
declare  his  righteousness  for  the  remission  of  sins 
that  are  past,  through  the  forbearance  of  God ;  to 
declare,  I  say,  at  this  time  his  righteousness :  that 
he  might  be  just,  and  the  justifier  of  him  which 
believeth  in  Jesus"  (Rom.  3:  25,  26).  The  Eng- 
lish word  "declare,"  as  used  in  this  passage,  is 
also  used  in  the  passage  in  Jno.  Ij  18  already 


The  Three-fold  Message  of  the  Cross    25 

considered,  wherein  the  bosom  of  God  is  said  to 
have  been  "declared."  The  Greek  words  from 
which  these  two  translations  are  made  are  not 
the  same.  In  the  passage  in  John  the  word  pre- 
sents the  idea  of  announcement  (cf.  Lk.  24:  35; 
Acts  10 :  8 ;  15 : 12,  14;  21 : 19),  while  in  the  pas- 
sage in  Romans  the  word  indicates  the  legal  as- 
pect of  a  full  proof  of  something  in  question  (cf. 
2  Cor.  8:24,  "Proof";  Phil.  1:28,  "Evident 
token"). 

In  verse  25  of  the  passage  under  consideration 
the  evident  proof  of  the  righteousness  of  God  was 
made  in  the  cross  concerning  the  sins  committed 
before  the  death  of  Christ.  God  had  always  an- 
ticipated a  perfect  and  sufficient  sacrifice  for  sin. 
The  blood  of  bulls  and  goats  had  never  taken  away 
sin,  but  had  been  the  divinely  appointed  symbol 
of  the  blood  that  was  to  be  shed.  In  view  of  the 
sacrifice  that  was  to  be,  God  had  passed  over,  or 
pretermitted,  the  sins  aforetime  on  the  condi- 
tion that  the  offender  present  the  symbolic  inno- 
cent sacrifice  for  his  sins.  Although  the  offender 
may  have  comprehended  but  little  of  all  the  di- 
vine meaning  and  purpose,  the  sacrifice  stood  as 
a  covenant  with  Jehovah  that  He  would,  in  the 
fulness  of  time,  meet  all  the  need  of  the  sinner. 
When  the  true  and  sufficient  sacrifice  was  accom- 
plished, that  sacrifice  stood  as  a  full  proof  that 
God  had  been  righteous  in  all  the  generations 
wherein  He  had  freely  acted  in  view  of  that 
great  event  which  was  yet  to  come. 

In  verse  26  the  declaration,  or  full  proof,  of 
the  righteousness  of  God  is  made  in  the  cross  in 


26  Salvation 

relation  to  the  sins  committed  since  the  cross  and 
in  this  time  when  the  human  responsibility  for 
adjustment  and  cure  for  sin  is  not  the  providing 
of  a  symbolic  sacrifice,  as  in  the  Old  Testament, 
but  is  rather  conditioned  on  a  personal  trust  in 
the  sufficient  sacrifice  fully  accomplished  on  the 
cross.  Such  justification,  according  to  this  verse, 
is  for  "him  which  believeth  in  Jesus." 

This  verse  also  states  what  we  may  believe  to 
be  the  deepest  divine  problem.  How  can  the  right- 
eous God  deal  righteously  with  the  sinner  and  at 
the  same  time  satisfy  His  own  compassion  and 
love  in  saving  him  from  the  doom  His  own  right- 
eousness must  ever  impose  on  one  who  commits 
sin?  Though  He  love  the  sinner,  there  are  un- 
alterable conditions  to  be  met  in  upholding  His 
justice  and  personal  character.  Sin  cannot  be 
treated  otherwise  than  sin,  else  all  standards  of 
holiness  and  justice  fail.  This  is  not  a  remote 
and  exceptional  problem;  but  is  one  as  far  reach- 
ing and  important  as  the  very  fact  of  the  existence 
and  destiny  of  the  human  family  itself.  It  must 
also  be  considered  as  claiming  the  utmost  atten- 
tion of  all  intelligences  of  the  universe.  Can  sin 
be  righteously  treated  as  sin  and  still  a  way  be 
provided  for  the  salvation  of  the  sinner?  Any 
theory  which  tends  to  lessen  the  imperative  for 
judgment  which  was  created  by  sin,  does  not  fully 
weigh  the  fact  of  the  unalterable  character  of  the 
righteousness  of  God.  Is  He  not  all-powerful  and 
all-sufficient  and  can  He  not  waive  aside  the  sin 
of  those  creatures  His  hands  have  made  ?  Is  He 
bound  by  anv  lew  whatsoever?  The  answer  is 


The  Three-fold  Message  of  the  Cross    27 

not  of  human  origin,  any  more  than  is  the  ques- 
tion, though  the  human  mind  may  comprehend 
it.  Even  God  cannot  change  the  character  of 
righteousness  by  altering  or  lessening  to  the  slight- 
est degree  its  holy  demands.  What  is  done  for 
the  satisfaction  of  His  love  in  saving  any  whom 
His  righteousness  condemns  must  be  done  in  full 
view  of  all  that  His  righteousness  could  ever  re- 
quire. The  crpss  is  said  to  be  the  message  of 
God  through  His  Son  in  answer  to  this  divine 
problem.  He  might  not  change  the  demands  of 
righteousness,  but  He  has  sufficient  power  and 
resource  to  meet  perfectly  those  demands  for  every 
sin-doomed  soul.  The  dying  Christ  was  "set 
forth"  in  order  that  God  might  be  just  and  at  the 
same  time  satisfy  His  heart  of  love  in  being  the 
justifier  of  him  which  believeth  in  Jesus.  As  the 
righteous  Judge,  He  pronounced  the  full  divine 
sentence  against  sin.  As  the  Saviour  of  sinners, 
He  stepped  down  from  His  judgment  throne  and 
took  into  His  breast  the  very  doom  He  had  in 
righteousness  imposed.  The  cross  declares  the 
righteousness  of  God,  and  because  of  that  cross 
His  righteousness  cannot  suffer  or  ever  be  called 
in  question,  even  when  He  wholly  pardons  the 
chief  of  sinners  and  floods  him  with  the  riches 
of  grace.  All  that  righteousness  can  demand  has 
by  the  very  Judge  been  supplied;  for  it  was  God 
Who  was  "in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto 
himself."  The  problem  was  within  the  very  na- 
ture of  God  Himself.  How  can  He  remain  just 
and  still  justify  the  sinner  whom  He  loved  with 
an  everlasting  love?  He  was  the  mediator  be- 


28  Salvation 

tween  His  own  xightequs^Beingjind  the  meritless, 
helpless  sinner.  The  redemption  price  has  been 
paid  by  the  very  Judge  Himself. 

This  is  revealed  to  finite  man  as  being  now 
accomplished  by  the  infinite  God.  God  has  not 
thus  acted  because  man  requested  Him  to  do  so. 
It  was  His  own  solution  of  His  own  problem 
determined  by  Him  before  any  man  came  into 
being.  It  was  made  actual  in  the  cross  in  "the 
fulness  of  time."  Man  is  only  asked  to  believe 
and  act  on  the  facts  thus  revealed.  Redemption 
by  the  cross  was  not  God's  second  best  as  con- 
trasted with  the  innocency  of  Adam  in  the  gar- 
den. It  was  in  the  divine  councils  from  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world  and  its  accomplishment  is 
unto  a  heavenly  state  above  angels  and  archangels, 
yea,  into  the  ve^y  i™flgp  n-f  dhr\n\..  This  is  the 
good  news  of  the  Gospel.  Sin's  judgments  are 
already  perfectly  met.  "He  loved  me  and  gave 
Himself  for  me."  While  the  cross  is  to  the  un- 
saved Jew  "a  stumbling  block"  and  to  the  unsaved 
Gentile  "foolishness,"  it  is  to  those  that  are  saved 
"the  power  of  God  and  the  wisdom  of  God." 
These  extremes  in  the  conclusions  concerning  the 
cross  by  equally  intelligent  people  can  be  ac- 
counted for  on  no  other  ground  than  that  some, 
by  the  Spirit,  have  apprehended  and  accepted 
the  declaration  of  God's  love  and  righteousness 
which  He  has  made  in  the  cross.  They  have  seen 
that  the  very  power  of  God  in  saving  grace  has 
been  set  free,  and  that  God's  own  wisdom  has 
been  disclosed  in  solving  His  own  problem  of 
saving  sinners  by  that  cross.  The  new  song  of 


The  Three-fold  Message  of  the  Cross    29 

such  a  heart  is,  "God  forbid  that  I  should  glory, 
save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by 
whom  the  world  is  crucified  unto  me,  and  I  unto 
the  world."  All  praise  be  unto  Him !  Christ  was 
God's  Lamb  "that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world."  "He  became  a  curse  for  us."  "He  bore 
our  sins  in  his  body  on  the  tree."  "He  was  made 
sin  for  us."  "Jehovah  hath  caused  to  rest  on 
him  the  iniquity  of  us  all."  "He  is  the  propi- 
tiation for  our  sins."  "He  tasted  death  for  every 
man." 

It  is,  therefore,  now  possible  for  the  righteous 
God  to  deal  graciously  with  a  sinner  because  that 
sinner,  through  the  substitutionary  death  of 
Christ,  is,  in  the  estimation  of  God,  placed  beyond 
his  own  execution,  and  the  ground  of  condemna- 
tion is  forever  past.  God  has,  for  His  own  sake, 
removed  every  moral  hindrance  which  His  infinite 
holiness  might  see  in  sinful  man,  and  so  it  is 
now  possible  for  Him  to  exercise  the  last  impulse 
of  His  love  without  reservation  or  limitation. 

When  thus  unshackled  and  untrammeled  in  His 
love,  He,  through  His  own  lavishings  of  love 
and  grace,  places  the  sinner  in  the  eternal  glory 
finally  perfected  into  the  very  image  of  His  Son. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  highest  heaven  beyond 
that.  It  is  the  greatest  possible  thing  that  God 
can  do.  It  is  the  infinite  demonstration  of  His 
grace.  God's  grace  in  action  is  more  than  love. 
It  is  love  operating  in  full  recognition  and  ad- 
justment to  every  demand  of  righteousness. 
"Even  so  might  grace  reign  through  righteous- 
ness unto  eternal  life  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 


30  Salvation 

The  conclusion  from  these  revelations  is  that 
by  the  cross  God  has  declared  our  sin,  His  own 
righteousness  and  His  own  unmeasured  love.  He 
has  spoken  to  us  through  His  Son.  The  reason- 
able requirement  is  that  we  believe  that  message. 
This  is  the  only  condition  given  in  the  Bible  upon 
which  one  may  enter  into  God's  saving  grace. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  PKESENT  VALUES  OF  THE  CEOSS 
TO  THE  UNSAVED 

EVEEY  thoughtful  person  is  compelled  to  assign 
some  reason  for  the  death  of  Christ.  The  prob- 
lem consists  in  the  fact  that  the  sinless,  harm- 
less Man  Who  most  evidently  was  able  to  defend 
Himself  against  all  human  strength,  and  being 
very  God  could  have  dismissed  the  universe  from 
His  presence  by  one  word;  nevertheless  allowed 
Himself  to  be  crucified  in  seeming  weakness,  and 
afterward  appeared  in  resurrection  life  and 
power.  Since  both  the  death  of  Christ  and  His 
resurrection  are  fully  established  facts  of  his- 
tory, the  question  demands  solution.  Why  did 
He  suffer  Himself  thus  to  be  put  to  death  ?  It  is 
certain  He  did  not  need  to  die  either  because  of 
His  own  sinfulness  or  weakness.  This  problem 
does  not  remain  a  mere  abstract  riddle.  The 
death  of  Christ  is  explained  in  the  Scriptures  and 
the  personal  acceptance  or  rejection  of  that  divine 
explanation  is  declared  to  be  the  point  which  de- 
termines the  destiny  of  each  individual.  Men  are 
said  to  stand,  or  fall,  not  by  their  moral,  or  re- 
ligious standards,  but  by  their  personal  choice  in 
relation  to  the  death  and  saving  grace  of  Christ. 
The  question  is  as  important,  therefore,  as  the 
destiny  of  man. 

The  Scriptures  know  but  one  solution  to  the 
problem  of  the  death  of  Christ — one,  and  only  one, 


32  Salvation 

whether  it  be  in  type  in  the  Old  Testament,  or 
in  the  exact  unfoldings  of  the  history  and  doc- 
trine of  the  New  Testament.  The  Bible  lends 
no  sanction  to  differing  human  theories  on  this 
point.  Such  speculations  are  but  shadows  of  the 
divine  revelation  and  their  promulgation  is,  like 
any  counterfeit,  a  misleading  substitute  for  the 
real  Gospel  of  saving  grace. 

Almost  every  passage  related  to  the  cross  could 
be  called  into  evidence  in  determining  the  divine 
reason  for  the  sacrifice  on  the  part  of  the  Son 
of  God.  In  these  divine  records  two  great  truths 
are  evident:  He  died  as  a  substitute  for  some 
one  else,  and  that  some  one  else  is  each  and  every 
individual  in  all  the  lost  world  of  mankind.  "But 
he  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  he  was 
bruised  for  our  iniquities :  the  chastisement  of  our 
peace  was  upon  him ;  and  with  his  stripes  we  are 
healed.  All  we  like  sheep  have  gone  astray;  we 
have  turned  every  one  to  his  own  way;  and  the 
LORD  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all" 
(Isa.  53 :  5,  6)  ;  "Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which 
taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world"  (Jno.  1:  29)  ; 
"For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life"  (Jno. 
3: 16)  ;  "Because  we  thus  judge,  that  if  one  died 
for  all,  then  were  all  dead"  (2  Cor.  5 : 14)  ;  "Who 
will  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  to  come  unto 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth"  (1  Tim.  2:1);  "That 
he  by  the  grace  of  God  should  taste  death  for 
every  man"  (Heb.  2:9);  "And  he  is  the  propi- 
tiation for  our  sins:  and  not  for  ours  only,  but. 


also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world"  (1  Jno.  2:2). 

In  the  clearest  terms  this  death  is  here  said 
to  be  a  substitution.  He  did  not  die  to  show  men 
how  to  die  gracefully,  or  bravely:  He  died  that 
they  might  not  die.  What  He  did,  therefore,  does 
not  need  to  be  done  again.  It  is  something  ac- 
complished for  every  person  and  in  such  perfec- 
tion as  to  be  fully  satisfying  to  the  infinite  God. 
In  like  manner  these  passages  are  characterized 
by  such  universal  words  as  "all,"  "every  man"  and 
"the  whole  world."  From  this  it  must  be  be- 
lieved that  the  death  of  Christ  has  already  pro- 
vided a  great  potential  and  provisional  value  for 
every  guilty  sinner,  which  is  now  awaiting  his 
personal  recognition. 

Preceding  the  dismissal  of  His  spirit  as  He 
hung  upon  the  cross  Jesus  said,  "It  is  finished." 
This  could  hardly  have  referred  to  the  fact  that 
His  own  life  or  sufferings  were  at  an  end.  It 
was  rather  the  divine  announcement  of  the  fact 
that  a  complete  transaction  regarding  the  judg- 
ment of  sin  and  the  sufficient  grounds  of  salva- 
tion for  every  sinner  was  accomplished.  It  is  im- 
portant to  consider  what,  according  to  the  Scrip- 
tures, was  then  finished. 

To  know  the  meaning  of  three  Bible  words 
which  relate  the  cross  of  Christ  to  the  sinner  will 
throw  some  light  upon  the  character  and  extent 
of  the  work  that  is  said  to  be  "finished"  for  the 
whole  unsaved  world. 

First — Reconciliation:  This  word,  or  the  doc- 
trine it  represents,  does  not  directly  appear  in  the 
Old  Testament.  There  the  thought  is  always  of 


34  Salvation 

an  immediate  and  personal  atonement  by  shedding 
of  blood.  In  the  New  Testament  its  meaning 
is  that  of  a  complete  and  thorough  change  ac- 
complished by  the  actual  removal  of  the  cause  of 
enmity,  so  making  reconciliation.  The  most  illu- 
minating passage  on  this  truth  is  found  in  2  Cor. 
5 : 14-21  E.  V.  "For  the  love  of  Christ  constrain- 
eth  us;  because  we  thus  judge,  that  one  died  for 
all,  therefore  all  died;  and  he  died  for  all,  that 
they  that  live  should  no  longer  live  unto  them- 
selves, but  unto  him  who  for  their  sakes  died  and 
rose  again.  Wherefore  we  henceforth  know  no 
man  after  the  flesh:  even  though  we  have  known 
Christ  after  the  flesh,  yet  now  we  know  him  so 
no  more.  Wherefore  if  any  man  is  in  Christ,  he 
is  a  new  creature :  the  old  things  are  passed  away ; 
behold,  they  are  become  new.  But  all  things  are 
of  God,  who  reconciled  us  to  himself  through 
Christ,  and  gave  unto  us  the  ministry  of  recon- 
ciliation; to  wit,  that  God  was  in  Christ  recon- 
ciling the  world  unto  himself,  not  reckoning  unto 
them  their  trespasses,  and  having  committed  unto 
us  the  word  of  reconciliation.  We  are  ambas- 
sadors therefore  on  behalf  of  Christ,  as  though 
God  were  entreating  by  us:  we  beseech  you  on 
behalf  of  Christ,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God.  Him 
who  knew  no  sin  he  made  to  be  sin  on  our  behalf ; 
that  we  might  become  the  righteousness  of  God 
in  him." 

The  subsequent  truth  in  this  passage  grows  out 
of  the  primary  statement  of  verse  14,  wherein 
it  is  said  that  the  death  of  Christ  was  for  all,  and, 
therefore,  in  a  legal  sense,  all  have  died  in  that 


Present  Values  of  Cross  to  Unsaved    35 

death.  The  logic  is  irresistible.  If  it  be  admitted 
that  He  died  for  all  (and  the  Scriptures  know 
no  limitation  in  the  universal  provision  in  that 
death),  then  the  value  of  that  death  has  been  se- 
cured and  provided  for  all,  and  since  this  is  an 
undertaking  which  began  in  the  councils  of  God 
and  was  ordained  to  meet  the  righteous  require- 
ments of  His  own  Being,  these  values  have  been 
secured  on  a  plane  which  answers  the  highest  de- 
mands of  the  Infinite. 

That  Jesus  died  for  an  individual  constitutes 
the  greatest  thing  that  can  be  said  of  that  per- 
son, and,  to  a  truly  spiritual  understanding,  the 
minor  classifications  of  the  human  family  cease 
before  the  overwhelming  revelation.  "Henceforth 
know  we  no  man  after  the  flesh."  He  is  only  to 
be  known  as  one  for  whom  Jesus  died.  In  like 
manner,  on  the  ground  of  the  perfect  divine  provi- 
sion and  accomplishment  in  the  cross  it  is  added : 
"If  any  man  be  in  Christ  he  is  a  new  creature 
(creation)  :  old  things  have  passed  away ;  behold, 
all  things  are  become  new.  But  all  things  are  of 
God,  who  reconciled  us  (or  thoroughly  changed  us 
in  relation)  to  himself  through  Christ."  The 
Apostle  then  adds,  "God  was  in  Christ  reconciling 
the  world  unto  himself,  not  reckoning  unto  them 
their  trespasses."  The  world  is  thus  thoroughly 
changed  in  its  relation  to  God  by  the  death  of  His 
Son.  God  Himself  is  not  said  to  be  changed :  He 
has  thoroughly  changed  the  world  in  its  relation 
to  Himself  by  the  death  of  Christ.  God  Himself 
has  undertaken  the  needed  mediation  between  His 
own  righteous  Person  and  the  sinful  world.  The 


36  Salvation 

provision  of  a  Mediator  an*d  the  grounds  of  medi- 
ation for  the  whole  world  does  not  save  the  world, 
but  it  does  render  the  salvation  of  the  individual 
possible  in  the  righteousness  of  God. 

Those  who  are  thus  saved  have  received  a  min- 
istry from  God.  "We  are  ambassadors,  there- 
fore, on  behalf  of  Christ,  as  though  God  were 
entreating  by  us:  we  beseech  you  on  behalf  of 
Christ,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God." 

From  this  Scripture  we  may  conclude  that  there 
is  a  two-fold  aspect  of  reconciliation:  first,  that 
which  God  hath  already  wrought  in  Christ  by 
which  He  has  thoroughly  changed  the  relation  of 
the  whole  world  to  Himself  so  that  He  does  not 
reckon  their  trespasses  unto  them,  and,  second,  a 
reconciliation  for  which  we  may  plead  and  which 
must  take  place  in  the  attitude  of  the  unsaved  in- 
dividual through  the  revelation  given  to  him  in 
the  Gospel  concerning  the  sacrifice  of  Christ. 
Salvation  is  made  to  depend  upon  such  a  personal 
response  to  this  appeal  from  God.  Blessed  indeed 
is  the  one  who  can  say,  "the  love  and  grace  of 
God,  in  removing  forever  my  judgments  and  doom 
by  the  sacrifice  of  His  Son,  are  wholly  satisfying 
to  me  and  I  rest  only  in  the  Saviour  thus  given." 
The  fact  of  the  universal  divine  reconciliation  may 
remain  unappreciated  and  unconsidered,  but  when 
its  eternal  riches  dawn  on  a  sin-blinded  soul  that 
one,  in  his  attitude  and  experience,  is  thoroughly 
changed  toward  God  and  finds  a  wholly  new  joy 
and  peace  through  believing  what  God  has  already 
done  in  His  boundless  grace. 

Second — Redemption:      Divine     redemption, 


Present  Values  of  Cross  to  Unsaved    37 

whether  in  the  Old  or  the  New  Testament,  is  to 
deliver  by  paying  the  demands  of  the  offended 
righteousness  of  God  against  sin.  The  price  of 
such  redemption  is  always  blood  alone.  "When  I 
see  the  blood,  I  will  pass  over  you"  (Ex.  12 : 13)  ; 
"It  is  the  blood  that  maketh  an  atonement  for 
the  soul"  (Lev.  17:11);  "This  is  my  blood  of 
the  new  testament,  which  is  shed  for  many  for  the 
remission  of  sins"  (Mt.  26:28);  "Ye  were  not 
redeemed  with  corruptible  things  *  *  *  but  with 
the  precious  blood  of  Christ"  (1  Pet.  1:18); 
"The  blood  of  J.esus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth  us 
from  all  sin"  (1  Jno.  1:7);  "Thou  wast  slain, 
and  hath  redeemed  us  to  God  by  t"hy  blood"  (Rev. 
5:9). 

The  full  redemption  by  blood  has  been  paid  in 
the  death  of  Christ  and  so  in  a  provisional  way 
has  affected  the  estate  of  the  whole  world.  "Who 
gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all,  to  be  testified  in 
due  time"  (1  Tim.  2:6);  "Even  the  Son  of  Man 
came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister, 
and  to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for  many"  (Mt. 
20 :  28)  ;  "Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world"  (Jno.  1:  29). 

Redemption  is  also  by  power.  This  was  seen 
in  the  redemption  of  Israel  from  Egypt  and  is 
equally  true  of  all  redemption.  The  price  may 
be  paid  for  the  slave,  but  he  must  be  taken  out 
of  the  slave  position  and  set  free.  This  is  indi- 
vidual and  such  redemption  by  blood  and  power 
is  the  blessed  experience  of  all  who  put  their  trust 
in  the  divine  Redeemer. 

Forgiveness,  which  in  the  Scriptures  is  indi- 


38  Salvation 

vidual,  is  made  possible  through  the  blood  of  re- 
demption. "The  priest  shall  make  an  atonement 
for  his  sin  that  he  hath  committed,  and  it  shall 
be  forgiven  him"  (Lev.  4:  35)  ;  "This  is  my  blood 
of  the  new  testament,  which  is  shed  for  many  for 
the  remission  of  sins"  (Mt.  26 : 28)  ;  "Without 
shedding  of  blood  is  no  remission"  (Heb. 
9:22);  "In  whom  we  have  redemption  through 
his  blood,  the  forgiveness  of  sins"  (Eph.  1:7). 

Redemption,  then,  may  also  be  considered  in 
these  two  aspects:  that  which  has  been  already 
accomplished  through  the  blood  of  the  cross,  and 
that  which  may  yet  be  done  for  the  one  who  be- 
lieves, through  the  immediate  power  of  God.  The 
ransom  price  has  been  paid  for  all;  yet  for  the 
one  who  believes  there  is  a  further  work  of  re- 
demption which  is  manifested  in  the  transform- 
ing and  sanctifying  power  of  the  Spirit. 

Happy  is  the  individual  who  believes  what  God 
has  written,  and  rests  in  the  redeeming  work  of 
Christ  as  his  only  deliverance  from  the  hopeless 
estate  of  the  lost. 

Third — Propitiation:  The  meaning  of  this 
word  is  inexpressibly  sweet.  It  refers  to  a  di- 
vinely provided  place  of  meeting,  a  place  of  pro- 
pitiation. The  mercy-seat  of  the  Old  Testament 
is  spoken  of  in  Heb.  9:5  as  a  place  of  propitia- 
tion. There,  covering  the  broken  law,  was  the 
blood-sprinkled  mercy-seat,  and  there  was  the  She- 
kinah  light  which  spoke  of  the  presence  of  God. 
There,  too,  because  of  the  blood  and  what  it 
typified,  a  holy  God  could  meet  a  sinful  man 
without  judgments  and,  in  turn,  a  sinful  man 


Present  Values  of  Cross  to  Unsaved    39 

could  meet  a  holy  God  without  dread  or  fear.  So 
we  find  in  Kom.  3:  25,  26,  that  Christ  was  "set 
forth"  by  His  Father  God  to  be  a  propitiation 
through  faith  in  His  blood.  So,  also,  in  1  Jno. 
2 :  2,  "And  he  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins : 
and  not  for  ours  only,  but  for  the  sins  of  the 
whole  world."  The  very  blood-sprinkled  body  of 
the  Son  of  God  on  the  cross  has  become  the  di- 
vinely provided  place  of  meeting  where  now  a 
guilty  sinner  can  come  to  God  without  fear,  and 
the  righteous  God  can  receive  that  soul  apart  from 
all  judgments  and  condemnation. 

The  publican  who  went  up  to  the  temple  to 
pray,  according  to  Lk.  18 :  9-14,  would  not  so 
much  as  lift  up  his  eyes  to  heaven,  but  smote 
on  his  breast,  and  said :  "God  be  thou  propitiated 
to  me  the  sinner."  The  significance  of  the  Greek 
text  is  not  "God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner,"  but 
is  more  correctly  expressed  by  the  R.  V.  marginal 
rendering,  "God  be  propitiated  to  me  the  sinner." 
There  is  a  most  vital  distinction  here.  It  is  one 
thing  to  call  on  God  for  an  exercise  of  immediate 
mercy:  it  is  quite  another  thing  to  ask  to  be 
covered  by  atoning  blood.  How  different  the 
issue  is  before  the  unsaved  now  since  the 
atoning  blood  has  been  shed !  Certainly  it  is  not 
a  matter  with  them  of  securing  some  special 
leniency  from  God:  it  is  rather  a  matter  of  be- 
lieving that  every  needed  grace  has  been  already 
exercised.  On  the  ground  of  a  divinely  provided 
propitiation  the  publican  went  down  to  his  house 
justified,  which  was  vastly  more  than  being  for- 
given. In  like  manner,  every  soul  has  been  as 


40  Salvation 

freely  justified  who  has  believed.  It  is  a  question 
of  intelligently  electing  to  receive  and  stand  in  the 
saving  work  of  Christ  which  is  simply  to  receive 
the  Christ  as  a  personal  Saviour.  The  sinner  thus 
acknowledges  Christ  as  the  divinely  appointed  pro- 
pitiation and  there  in  confidence  rests  his  case 
before  the  righteous  throne  of  God. 

From  these  three  Bible  words  we  may  conclude 
that  there  is  a  work  now  fully  accomplished  in  the 
cross  for  every  unsaved  person.  Such  have  been 
thoroughly  changed  in  their  relation  to  God  by 
His  great  act  of  reconciliation,  and  He  is  said 
to  be  waiting  for  them  to  be  thoroughly  changed 
by  the  message  of  the  Cross  in  reconciliation 
toward  Him.  He  has  redeemed  them  by  the  blood 
of  Christ  Who  was  "the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world,"  but  is  now  awaiting 
their  act  of  faith  toward  the  Christ  that  He  might 
with  the  power  of  the  Spirit  transform  them  into 
the  very  sons  of  God.  He  has  been  propitiated 
toward  "the  whole  world,"  but  must  await  the 
willingness  of  the  individual  to  stand  only  on 
the  fact  that  the  righteous  judgments  for  sin  have 
already  been  accomplished  in  the  cross  of  Christ. 
That  cross  was  a  propitiation  toward  God ;  a  rec- 
onciliation toward  man ;  and  a  redemption  toward 
sin.  And  this  in  relation  to  every  member  of  the 
fallen  human  race.  If  men  go  to  perdition  it  will 
be  because  every  possible  mercy  from  God  has  been 
resisted. 

"God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only 
begotten  Son" — this  much  is  universal  and  so  is 
true  of  all — "that  whosoever  believeth  in  him 


Present  Values  of  Cross  to  Unsaved    41 

should  not  perish  but  have  everlasting  life" — is 
individual  and  personal.  No  one  is  saved  by  these 
universal  things  alone;  but  because  of  these  uni- 
versal things  any  one  who  believes  may  be  saved. 
To  every  unsaved  person,  therefore,  the  mes- 
sage may  be  given  in  the  full  confidence  in  its 
truth  that  God  has  already  completed  the  grounds 
of  salvation,  and  they  are  but  to  believe  on  Him 
through  Whom  all  this  grace  has  been  so  per- 
fectly wrought. 


CHAPTER   V 

THE  ONE  CONDITION  OF  SALVATION 

NOTWITHSTANDING  all  that  has  been  divinely  ac- 
complished for  the  unsaved,  they  are  not  saved 
by  it  alone.  Salvation  is  an  immediate  display 
of  the  power  of  God  within  the  lifetime  and  ex- 
perience of  the  individual,  and  is  easily  distin- 
guished from  those  potential  accomplishments  fin- 
ished nearly  two  thousand  years  ago  in  the  cross. 
As  has  been  stated,  salvation  is  a  work  of  God 
for  man,  rather  than  a  work  of  man  for  God.  No 
aspect  of  salvation,  according  to  the  Bible,  is  made 
to  depend,  even  in  the  slightest  degree,  on  human 
merit  or  works.  Great  stress  is  laid  on  the  value 
of  good  works  which  grow  out  of  a  saved  life,  but 
they  do  not  precede  salvation  or  form  any  part  of 
a  basis  for  it.  It,  therefore,  is  revealed  that  the 
first  issue  between  God  and  an  unsaved  person  in 
this  age  is  that  of  receiving  Christ,  rather  than 
that  of  improving  the  manner  of  life,  however 
urgent  such  improvement  may  be.  This  insistence 
seems  to  mere  human  reason  to  be  an  indirect, 
if  not  aimless,  means  of  obtaining  the  moral  im- 
provement of  men.  The  need  of  moral  improve- 
ment is  most  evident,  and  simply  to  try  to  help 
men  to  be  better  would  seem  to  be  the  direct^and 
logical  thing  to  do.  However,  the  divine  program 
strikes  deeper  and  purposes  a  new  creation  out 
from  which  good  works  can  flow  and  apart  from 
which  there  can  be  no  acceptable  works  in  the 

42 


The  One  Condition  of  Salvation    43 

sight  of  God.  Unsaved  men  are  thus  shut  up  to 
the  one  condition  upon  which  God  can  right- 
eously make  them  to  be  new  creatures  in  Christ 
Jesus. 

With  regard  to  the  necessity  of  a  new  creation 
the  unregenerate  are  blind  in  their  minds  (2  Cor. 
4 :  3,  4) .  So  also  about  this  need  a  multitude  of 
professing  Christians  are  poorly  taught,  result- 
ing in  a  well  nigh  universal  misconception  of  the 
demands  of  the  gospel.  When  dealing  with  the 
unsaved,  false  issues  are  often  raised  and  these 
unscriptural  demands  appear  in  many  forms. 
Satan's  ministers  are  said  to  be  the  ministers  of 
righteousness  (2  Cor.  11:14,  15).  They  waive 
aside  the  Bible  emphasis  on  a  new  birth,  which 
is  by  the  power  of  God  through  faith  and  which 
is  the  only  source  from  which  works  acceptable  to 
God  can  be  produced,  and  devote  their  energy  to 
the  improvement,  morally  and  righteously,  of  the 
individual's  character.  Such  workers,  in  spite 
of  their  sincerity  and  humanitarian  motives,  are 
by  the  Spirit  of  God  said  to  be  "the  ministers 
of  Satan." 

The  fact  that  the  unregenerate  are  blinded  by 
Satan  in  regard  to  the  true  gospel  of  grace  is  the 
explanation  of  the  age-long  plea  of  the  moralist: 
"If  I  do  the  best  I  can  God  must  be  satisfied  with 
that,  else  He  is  unreasonable."  Granting  that 
anyone  has  ever  done  his  best,  it  would  still  be 
most  imperfect  as  compared  with  the  infinite 
holiness  of  God.  God  cannot,  under  any  condi- 
tions, call  that  perfect  which  is  imperfect,  and 
He  is  far  from  unreasonable  in  demanding  a  per- 


44  Salvation 

feet  righteousness,  impossible  to  man,  while  He 
stands  ready  to  provide  as  a  gift  all  that  His  holi- 
ness requires.  This  is  exactly  the  offer  of  the 
Gospel.  The  Scriptures  do  not  call  on  men  of 
this  age  to  present  their  own  righteousness  to  God ; 
but  invite  unrighteous  men  to  receive  the  very 
righteousness  of  God  which  may  be  theirs  through 
a  vital  union  with  Christ.  The  appeal  is  not  self- 
improvement  in  the  important  matters  of  daily 
life,  but  that  "the  gift  of  God  which  is  eternal 
life  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord"  might  be 
received.  When  this  eternal  issue  is  met  the 
more  temporal  matters  of  conduct  are  urged; 
but  only  on  the  grounds  of  the  fact  that  divine 
salvation  has  been  wrought  for  sinful  man  wholly 
apart  from  his  own  works. 

The  question  confronting  each  individual, 
therefore,  is  that  of  the  basis  upon  which  this  new 
creation  can  be  gained.  In  such  an  undertak- 
ing man  is  powerless.  All  his  ability  must  be 
forever  set  aside.  It  must  be  accomplished  for 
him,  and  God  alone  can  do  it.  He  alone  can 
form  a  new  creation;  He  alone  can  deal  with 
sin ;  He  alone  can  bestow  a  perfect  righteousness ; 
He  alone  can  translate  from  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness into  the  kingdom  of  His  dear  Son. 

If  it  were  only  a  question  of  power  to  trans- 
form men  the  creative  power  of  God  has  always 
been  sufficient;  but  there  was  a  greater  difficulty 
caused  by  the  fact  of  sin.  Sin  must  first  be  judged, 
and  no  favor  or  grace  can  be  divinely  exercised 
until  every  offense  of  righteousness  has  been  fully 
met.  God  cannot  look  on  sin  with  the  least 


The  One  Condition  of  Salvation    45 

degree  of  allowance,  and  so  He  can  grant  His 
favor  only  by  and  through  the  cross  wherein,  and 
only  wherein,  the  consequences  of  sin  have  been 
forever  met  in  His  sight.  Thus  salvation  can  be 
accomplished,  even  by  the  infinite  God,  only 
through  Jesus  Christ.  Hence  it  is  that  a  simple 
trust  in  the  Saviour  opens  the  way  into  the  in- 
finite power  and  grace  of  God.  It  is  "unto  every 
one  that  believeth,"  "For  there  is  none  other  name 
under  heaven  given  among  men  whereby  we  must 
be  saved." 

This  one  word  "believe"  represents  all  a  sin- 
ner can  do  and  all  a  sinner  must  do  to  be  saved. 
It  is  believing  the  record  God  has  given  of  His 
Son.  In  this  record  it  is  stated  that  He  has 
entered  into  all  the  needs  of  our  lost  condition  and 
is  alive  from  the  dead  to  be  a  living  Saviour  to 
all  who  put  their  trust  in  Him.  It  is  quite  pos- 
sible for  any  intelligent  person  to  know  whether 
he  has  placed  such  confidence  in  the  Saviour. 
Saving  faith  is  a  matter  of  personal  conscious- 
ness. "I  know  whom  I  have  believed."  To  have 
deposited  one's  eternal  welfare  in  the  hands  of 
another  is  a  decision  of  the  mind  so  definite  that 
it  can  hardly  be  confused  with  anything  else. 
On  this  deposit  of  oneself  into  His  saving  grace 
depends  one's  eternal  destiny.  To  add,  or  sub- 
tract, anything  from  this  sole  condition  of  salva- 
tion is  most  perilous.  The  Gospel  is  thus  often 
misstated  in  various  and  subtle  ways.  The  more 
common  of  these  should  be  mentioned  specifically : 

First,  The  unsaved  are  sometimes  urged  to  pray 
and  hope  for  an  attitude  of  leniency  on  the  part 


46  Salvation 

of  God  toward  their  sins :  whereas  they  should  be 
urged  to  believe  that  every  aspect  of  favor  and 
expression  of  love  has  already  been  wrought  out 
by  God  Himself.  They  are  not  believing  God 
when  they  beseech  Him  to  be  reconciled  to  them, 
when  He  is  revealed  as  having  already  accom- 
plished a  reconciliation.  The  Gospel  does  not 
inspire  a  hope  that  God  will  be  gracious:  it  dis- 
closes the  good  news  that  He  has  been  gracious 
and  challenges  every  man  but  to  believe  it.  A 
criminal  pleading  for  mercy  before  a  judge  is  not 
in  the  same  position  as  a  criminal  believing  and 
rejoicing  in  the  assurance  that  a  full  pardon  is 
granted  and  that  he  can  never  be  brought  again 
into  judgment. 

Second,  It  is  a  most  serious  error  to  intrude 
any  form  of  human  works  into  a  situation  wherein 
God  alone  can  work.  People  are  sometimes  led 
to  believe  that  there  is  saving  value  in  some  pub- 
lic confession  of  Christ,  or  profession  of  a  deci- 
sion. "With  the  heart  man  believeth  unto  righ- 
teousness." This  is  salvation.  "With  the  mouth 
confession  is  made  unto  salvation."  This  is  the 
voice  of  the  new-born  child  speaking  to  and  of  its 
Father.  The  only  condition  on  which  one  may 
be  saved  is  to  believe. 

Third,  It  is  equally  as  great  an  error  to  give 
the  unsaved  the  impression  that  there  is  saving 
virtue  in  promising  to  try  to  "lead  a  Christian 
life."  No  unregenerate  mind  is  prepared  to  deal 
with  the  problems  of  true  Christian  living.  These 
problems  anticipate  the  new  dynamic  of  the  im- 
parted divine  nature,  and  could  produce  nothing 


The  One  Condition  of  Salvation    47 

but  hopeless  discouragement  when  really  contem- 
plated by  an  unregenerate  person.  There  is  dan- 
ger, as  well,  that  by  forcing  the  issues  of  future 
conduct  into  the  question  the  main  issue  of  re- 
ceiving Christ  as  Saviour  may  be  submerged  in 
some  difficulty  related  to  the  proposed  standards 
of  living.  There  is  an  advantage  in  a  general 
morality,  "Sabbath  observance,"  temperance  and 
attendance  on  public  and  private  worship;  but 
there  is  no  saving  value  in  any,  or  all,  of  them. 
It  is  true  that  a  person  who  enters  into  these 
things  might  be  more  apt  to  hear  the  saving 
Gospel  of  grace  than  otherwise;  but  on  the  other 
hand,  the  sad  fact  is  that  these  very  things  are 
often  depended  upon  by  the  religiously  inclined 
to  commend  themselves  to  God.  A  clear  distinc- 
tion is  found  in  the  Bible  between  conversion  and 
salvation.  The  former  is  there  found  to  indicate 
no  more  than  the  humanly  possible  act  of  turning 
about,  while  the  latter  refers  to  that  display  of\ 
the  power  of  God  which  is  manifested  in  the 
whole  transformation  of  saving  grace. 

Fourth,  A  person  is  not  saved  because  he  prays. 
Multitudes  of  people  pray  who  are  not  saved. 
Praying  is  not  believing  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ;  though  the  new  attitude  of  belief  may  be 
expressed  in  prayer.  "Without  faith  it  is  im- 
possible to  please  God."  In  no  Scripture  is  sal- 
vation conditioned  on  asking  or  praying.  It  is 
faith  in  the  Saviour  Who  gave  His  precious  blood 
a  ransom  for  all.  The  publican,  living  and  pray- 
ing before  the  cross,  pleads  that  God  would  be 
propitiated  to  him  a  sinner.  The  issue  now  can 


48  Salvation 

only  be  one  of  believing  that  God  has  been  so 
propitiated. 

Fifth,  No  person  is  now  required  to  "seek  the 
Lord."  In  Isa.  55:6  it  is  said  to  Israel,  "Seek 
ye  the  LORD  while  he  may  be  found,"  but  in  the 
New  Testament  relationship  we  are  told  to  be- 
lieve that  the  "Son  of  man  is  come  to  seek  and 
to  save  that  which  was  lost." 

Sixth,  It  is  an  error  to  require  repentance  as 
a  preliminary  act  preceding  and  separate  from 
believing.  Such  insistence  is  too  often  based  on 
Scripture  which  is  addressed  to  the  covenant  peo- 
ple, Israel.  They,  like  Christians,  being  covenant 
people,  are  privileged  to  return  to  God  on  the 
grounds  of  their  covenant  by  repentance.  There 
is  much  Scripture  both  in  the  Old  Testament  and 
in  the  New  that  calls  that  one  nation  to  its  long- 
predicted  repentance,  and  it  is  usually  placed  be- 
fore them  as  a  separate  unrelated  act  that  is  re- 
quired. The  preaching  of  John  the  Baptist,  of 
Jesus  and  the  early  message  of  the  disciples  was, 
"repent  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand" ; 
but  it  was  addressed  only  to  Israel  (Mt.  10 :  5,  6). 
This  appeal  was  continued  to  that  nation  even 
after  the  day  of  Pentecost  or  so  long  as  the  Gospel 
was  preached  to  Israel  alone  (Acts  2:  38;  3: 19. 
See  also  5:31).  Paul  mentions  also  a  separate 
act  of  repentance  in  the  experience  of  Christians 
(2  Cor.  7 :  8-11.  See  also  Rev.  2:5). 

The  conditions  are  very  different,  however,  in 
the  case  of  an  unsaved  Gentile,  who  is  a  "stranger 
to  the  covenants  of  promise,  having  no  hope,  and 
without  God  in  the  world,"  and  equally  different 


The  One  Condition  of  Salvation    49 

for  any  individual  Jew  in  this  age.  In  present- 
ing the  Gospel  to  these  classes  there  are  one  hun- 
dred and  fifteen  passages  at  least  wherein  the  word 
"believe"  is  used  alone  and  apart  from  every  other 
condition  as  the  only  way  of  salvation.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  there  are  upwards  of  thirty-five  pas- 
sages wherein  its  synonym  "faith"  is  used.  There 
are  but  six  passages  addressed  to  unsaved  Gentiles 
wherein  repentance  appears  either  alone  or  in  com- 
bination with  other  issues.  These  are:  God 
"now  commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to  re- 
pent" (Acts  17 :  30) ;  "Repent  and  turn  to 
God"  (Acts  26:20);  "Repentance  unto  life" 
(Acts  11 : 18)  ;  "Repentance  and  faith"  (Acts 
20:21);  "The  goodness  of  God  that  leadeth 
to  repentance"  (Rom.  2:4);  "All  should 
come  to  repentance"  (2  Pet.  3:9).  That 
repentance  is  not  saving  is  evidenced  in  the 
case  of  Judas,  who  repented  and  yet  went  to 
perdition.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  there  are 
twenty-five  passages  wherein  "believe,"  or  "faith," 
is  given  as  the  only  condition  of  Gentile  salvation 
to  one  passage  wherein  repentance  appears  for  any 
reason  whatsoever.  It  would  seem  evident  from 
this  fact  that  repentance,  like  all  other  issues,  is 
almost  universally  omitted  from  the  great  salva- 
tion passages,  that  such  repentance  as  is  possible 
to  an  unsaved  person  in  this  dispensation  is  in- 
cluded in  the  one  act  of  believing.  The  statement 
in  1  Thes.  1:9,  10  may  serve  as  an  illustration. 
Here  it  is  said:  "Ye  turned  to  God  from  idols 
to  serve  the  living  and  true  God;  and  to  wait  for 
his  Son  from  heaven."  This  represents  one  all- 


50  Salvation 

inclusive  act.  Such  is  the  accuracy  of  the  Bible. 
Had  the  record  been  that  they  turned  from  idols 
to  God,  the  act  of  turning  from  idols  would  have 
stood  alone  as  a  preliminary  undertaking  and 
would  suggest  a  separate  work  of  repentance.  In 
Acts  11:21  it  is  stated  that  many  "believed  and 
turned  to  God."  This  is  not  difficult  to  under- 
stand. The  born-again  person  might  thus  turn 
to  God  after  believing;  but  there  is  no  revelation 
that  God  is  expecting  works  meet  for  anything 
from  that  which  He  has  termed  to  be  dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins. 

To  believe  on  Christ  is  to  see  and  believe  the 
all-sufficiency  of  His  saving  grace.  This  most 
naturally  includes  abandoning  all  other  grounds 
of  hope,  and  the  experiencing  of  such  sorrow  for 
sin  as  would  lead  one  to  claim  such  a  Saviour. 
It  is  doubtful  if  the  sinner  of  "this  present  evil 
age"  can  produce  greater  sorrow  than  this,  and 
of  what  avail  would  greater  sorrow  be  ?  ~No  esti- 
mate is  possible  of  the  wrong  that  has  been  done 
in  demanding  the  unsaved  of  this  age  to  experi- 
ence some  particular  degree  of  sorrow  for  sin, 
over  which  they  could  have  no  control,  before 
they  could  be  assured  that  the  way  was  open 
for  them  to  God.  Multitudes  have  been  driven 
into  unrealities  or  into  hopeless  doubt  as  they 
have  thus  groped  in  darkness.  The  good  news 
of  the  Gospel  does  not  invite  men  to  any  sorrow 
whatsoever,  or  to  works  of  repentance  alone:  it 
invites  them  to  find  immediate  "joy  and  peace  in 
believing."  Eepentance,  according  to  the  Bible, 
is  a  complete  change  of  mind  and,  as  such,  is  a 


The  One  Condition  of  Salvation     51 

vital  element  in  saving  faith;  but  it  should  not 
now  be  required,  as  a  separate  act,  apart  from 
saving  faith. 

The  Biblical  emphasis  upon  Gentile  repentance 
or  any  repentance  in  this  age  will  be  more  evi- 
dent when  the  full  meaning  of  the  word  "believe" 
is  understood. 

Seventh,  Moreover,  no  Scripture  requires  con- 
fession of  sin  as  a  condition  of  salvation  in  this 
age.  A  regenerate  person  who  has  wandered  from 
fellowship  may  return  to  his  place  of  blessing  by 
a  faithful  confession  of  his  sin.  1  Jno.  1:9  is 
addressed  only  to  believers.  "If  we  confess  our 
sins,  he  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins, 
and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness."  The 
unsaved  person  must  come  to  God  by  faith.  "For 
by  grace  are  ye  saved  through  faith"  (Eph.  2:8). 

Believing  is  related  in  the  Bible  to  two  other 
actions :  "Hear  and  believe"  (Acts  15:7;  Rom. 
10 : 14)  ;  "Believe  and  be  baptized"  (Acts  8:13; 
Mk.  16:  16  R,.  V.).  In  the  latter  passage  it  may 
be  noted  that  baptism  is  not  mentioned  when  the 
statement  is  repeated  in  the  negative  form.  "He 
that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved ;  and 
he  that  disbelieveth  shall  be  condemned."  The 
unsaved  person  is  condemned  for  not  believing 
rather  than  for  not  being  baptized.  Thus  believ- 
ing here,  as  everywhere,  is  the  only  condition  of 
salvation. 

The  far-reaching  importance  of  believing  may 
also  be  seen  in  the  fact  that  men  are  said  to  be 
lost  in  this  age  because  they  do  not  believe.  "He 
that  believeth  on  him  is  not  condemned:  but  he 


52  Salvation 

that  believeth  not  is  condemned  already,  because 
he  hath  not  believed  on  the  name  of  the  only  be- 
gotten Son  of  God"  (Jno.  3:18).  "He  that 
disbelieveth  shall  be  condemned"  (Mk.  16 : 16 
R.  V.).  Likewise  when  the  Spirit  is  said  to  ap- 
proach the  unsaved  to  convince  them  of  sin,  He  is 
not  said  to  make  them  conscious  or  ashamed  of 
their  personal  transgressions.  One  sin  only  is 
mentioned:  "Of  sin,  because  they  believe  not  on 
me"  (Jno.  16:9).  "This  is  the  condemnation, 
that  light  is  come  into  the  world,  and  men  loved 
darkness  rather  than  light,  because  their  deeds 
were  evil"  (Jno.  3: 19).  The  sin  sacrifice  of  the 
cross  is  forever  satisfying  to  God.  What  God 
does  is  based  on  His  own  estimate  of  the  finished 
work  of  Christ.  The  facts  and  conditions  of  sal- 
vation are  based  on  that  divine  estimate  rather 
than  upon  the  estimate  of  men.  That  men  are 
not  now  condemned  primarily  because  of  the  sins 
which  Christ  has  borne  is  finally  stated  in  2  Cor. 
5 : 14,  19  E.  V. :  "We  thus  judge,  that  if  one 
died  for  all,  therefore  all  died";  "God  was  in 
Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself,  not 
reckoning  unto  them  their  trespasses."  The  great- 
est problem  for  the  infinite  God  was  to  provide  the 
reconciliation  of  the  cross:  the  greatest  problem 
for  man  is  simply  to  believe  the  record  in  its  ful- 
ness. To  reject  the  Saviour  is  not  only  to  refuse 
the  gracious  love  of  God,  but  is  to  elect,  so  far 
as  one  can  do,  to  remain  under  the  full  guilt  of 
every  sin  as  though  no  Saviour  had  been  provided, 
or  no  sacrifice  had  been  made.  No  more  terrible 
sin  can  be  conceived  of  than  the  sin  of  rejecting 


The  One  Condition  of  Salvation    53 

Christ.  It  gathers  into  itself  the  infinite  crime 
of  despising  the  divine  mercy  and  grace,  and,  in 
intent,  assumes  the  curse  of  every  transgression 
before  God.  Thus  men  are  electing  to  stand  in 
their  own  sins  before  God.  It  will  be  seen  that 
this  personal  choice  becomes  a  part  of  the  final 
judgment  of  those  who  believe  not.  Jesus  said: 
"If  ye  believe  not  that  I  am  he,  ye  shall  die  in 
your  sins"  (Jno.  8:24).  At  the  judgment  of 
the  wicked  dead  before  the  Great  White  Throne,  * 
those  standing  there  are  said  to  be  judged  "ac- 
cording to  their  works."  There  is  additional  evi- 
dence recorded  against  them  at  that  judgment 
seat :  their  names  are  not  written  in  the  Lamb's 
book  of  life.  This  might  be  taken  as  evidence  that  -*- 
they  have  rejected  the  "Lamb  of  God  that  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world."  It  should  be  added 
that  it  was  the  divine  program  in  this  age  that 
the  Gospel  should  be  preached  to  every  crea- 
ture. And  thus  every  person  should  have  heard 
and  either  accepted  or  rejected  the  message  of 
Grace.  God  alone  can  righteously  judge  those 
who  have  never  heard  because  of  the  failure  of 
His  messengers. 

The  Apostle  John  in  his  Gospel  uses  the  word 
"believe"  in  its  various  forms  about  eighty-six 
times  and  never  related  to  repentance  or  human 
works  and  merit.  This  Gospel,  which  so  clearly 
states  the  present  way  of  life,  is  said  to  be  written 
for  a  definite  purpose:  "But  these  are  written 

,    that  ye  might  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God ;  and  that  believing  ye  might  have 

V  life  through  his  name." 


CHAPTER    VI 


THE    RICHES    OF    GRACED  IN    CHRIST 
JESUS  — 


IN  CONSIDERING  the  Bible  doctrine  of  salvation 
it  is  important  to  distinguish  between  those  things 
which  have  already  been  done  for  all,  and  those 
things  which  are  done  forthe  individual  at  the 
instant  he  believes.  The  sum  total  of  that  which 
has  been  done  for  both  classes  constitutes  "'the 
riches  of  grace  in  Christ  Jesus."  But  the  things 
divinely  accomplished'  at  the  instant  of  believing 
alone  form  that  aspect  of  salvation  which  is  al- 
ready accomplished  in  and  for  the  one  who  be- 
lieves. This  is  salvation  in  its  past  tense  aspect, 
i.  e.,  salvation  from  the.guilt^  penalty  and  con- 
ilemnjitipn  of  sin.  This  portion  of  the  doctrine 
of  salvation,  like  the  other  tense  aspects,  includes 
only  what  God  is  said  to  do  for  man,  and  nothing 
whatsoever  that  man  is  said  to  do  for  God,  or  for 
himself.  There  is  an  important  distinction  to  be 
made,  as  well,  between  the  drawing,  convincing 
work  of  the  Spirit  for  the  unsaved  when  He  con- 
vinces of  jsin,  righteousness  and  judgment,  and 
"the  things  that  accompany  salvation."  The 
former  is  the  wi>rk  of  God  in  bringing  the  unsaved 
who  are  blinded  by  Satan  (2  Cor.  4:3,  4)  to  an 
intelligent  decision  for  Christ;  the  latter  is  the 
outworking  of  that  salvation  after  they  believe. 
So,  also,  there  is  a  difference  to  be  noted  between 
the  work  of  God  in  the  past  tense  aspect  of  salva- 

54 


The  Riches  of  Grace  in  Christ  Jesus     55 

tion  and  the  growth  and  development  of  the  one 
who  is  thus  saved.  He  is  to  "grow  in  grace  and 
in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ."  He  is  to  be  "changed  from  glory  to 
glory."  These,  too,  are  divine  undertakings  for 
the  individual,  and  are  in  no  way  a  part  of  that 
which  is  wrought  of  God  the  moment  one  be- 
lieves. 

Most  of  the  great  doctrinal  epistles  of  the  New 
Testament  may  be  divided  into  a  general  two-fold 
division:  namely,  first,  that  which  represents  the 
work  of  God  already  accomplished  for  the  be- 
liever, and,  second,  that  which  represents  the  life 
and  work  of  the  believer  for  God.  The  first  eight  /) 
chapters  of  Romans  contain  the  whole  doctrine 
of  salvation  in  its  past  and  present  tense  aspects : 
the  last  section,  beginning  with  chapter  twelve 
(chapters  nine  to  eleven  being  parenthetical  in 
the  present  purpose  of  God  for  Israel)  is  an  ap- 
peal to  the  saved  one  to  live  as  it  becomes  one 
..thus,  saved.  This  section  opens  with  the  words,  fj  ^  / 
"I  beseech  you  therefore,  brethren,  by  the  mercies 
of  God,  that  ye  present  your  bodies  a  living  sacri- 
fice, holy,  acceptable  unto  God,  which  is  your 
reasonable  service."  Such  a  manner  of  life  is 
naturally  to  be  expected  from  the  one  who  has 
been  divinely  changed.  It  is  a  "reasonable  serv- 
ice." So  the  entire  closing  section  of  Romans  is 
an  exhortation  to  that  manner  of  life  befitting  one 
who  is  saved. 

The  first  three  chapters  of  Ephesians  present 
the  work  of  God  for  the  individual  in  bringi 
him  to  his  exalted  heavenly  position  in   Christ 


56  Salvation 

Jesus.  Not  one  exhortation  will  be  found  in  this 
section.  The  helpless  sinner  could  do  nothing  to 
further  such  an  undertaking.  The  last  section, 
beginning  with  chapter  4,  is  altogether  an  appeal 
for  a  manner  of  life  befitting  one  raised  to  such 
an  exalted  heavenly  position.  The  first  verse,  as 
in  the  opening  words  of  the  hortatory  section  of 
Romans,  is  an  epitome  of  all  that  follows:  "I 
therefore,  the  prisoner  of  the  Lord,  beseech  you 
that  ye  walk  worthy  of  the  vocation  wherewith  ye 
are  called." 

The  first  two  chapters  of  Colossians  reveal  the 
glory  of  the  Son  of  God  and  the  believer's  present 
position  as  identified  with  Him  in  resurrection 
life.  This  is  followed  by  the  two  closing  chapters, 
which  are  an  appeal  that  may  again  be  briefly 
condensed  into  the  first  two  verses  of  the  sec- 
tion :  "If  ye  then  be  risen  with  Christ,  seek  those 
things  which  are  above." 

It  is  important  to  note  the  divine  order  in 
presenting  these  most  vital  issues.  The  positions 
to  which  the  believer  is  instantly  lifted  by  the 
power  and  grace  of  God  are  always  mentioned 
first  and  without  reference  to  any  human  merit  or 
promises.  Following  this  is  the  injunction  for  a 
consistent  life  in  view  of  the  divine  blessing. 

It  is  obvious  that  no  attempt  to  imitate  this 
manner  of  life  could  result  in  such  exalted  posi- 
tions; but  the  positions,  when  wrought  of  God, 
create  an  entirely  new  demand  in  life  and  con- 
duct (in  the  Word  of  God  these  demands  are 
never  laid  upon  unregenerate  men).  Such  is 
always  the  order  in  grace.  First,  the  unmerited 


The  Riches  of  Grace  in  Christ  Jesus     57 

divine  blessing ;  then  the  life  lived  in  the  fullness  / 
of  power  which  that  blessing  provides.  Under  the;  v 
law  varying  blessings  were  given  at  the  end  ac-- 
cording  to  the  merit :  under  grace  full  measure 
of  transformation  is  bestowed  at  the  beginning 
and  there  follows  an  appeal  for  a  consistent  daily 
life.  It  is  the  divine  purpose  that  a  Christian's 
conduct  should  be  inspired  by  the  fact  that  he  is 
already  saved  and  blessed  with  all  the  riches  of 
grace  in  Christ  Jesus,  rather  than  by  the  hope 
that  an  attempted  imitation  of  the  Christian 
standard  of  conduct  will  result  in  salvation. 

In  turning  to  the  Scriptures  to  discover  what  it 
has  pleased  God  to  reveal  of  His  saving  work  in 
the  individual  at  the  instant  he  believes,  it  will 
be  found  that  there  are  at  least  thirty-three  dis- 
tinct positions  into  which  such  an  one  is  instantly 
brought  "by  the  sufficient  operation  of  the  infinite 
_God.  All  of  these  transformations  are  super- 
human, and,  taken  together,  form  that  part  of 
salvation  which  is  already  the  portion  of  every 
one  who  has  believed.  Of  these,. thirty-three  posi- 
tions at  least  five  important  things  may  be  said: 

First,  They  are  not  experienced.  They  are 
facts  of  the  newly  created  life  out  of  which  most 
precious  experiences  may  grow.  For  example, 
justification  is  never  experienced;  yet  it  is  a  new 
eternal  fact  of  divine  life  and  relationship  to 
God.  A  true  Christian  is  more  than  a  person 
who  feels  or  acts  on  a  certain  high  plane :  he  is  one 
who,  because  of  a  whole  inward  transformation, 
normally  feels  and  acts  in  all  the  limitless  heavenly 
association  with  his  Lord. 


58  Salvation 

Second,  The  Christian  positions  are  not  pro- 
gressive. They  do  not  grow,  or  develop,  from  a 
small  beginning.  They  are  as  perfect  and  com- 
plete the  instant  they  are  possessed  as  they  ever 
will  be  in  the  ages  to  come.  To  illustrate,  son- 
ship  does  not  grow  into  fuller  sonship,  even 
though  a  son  may  be  growing.  An  old  man  is 
no  more  the  son  of  his  earthly  father  at  the  day 
of  his  death  than  he  was  at  the  day  of  his  birth. 

Third,  These  positions  are  in  no  way  related 
to  hum^njnerit.  It  was  while  we  were  yet  sin- 
ners that  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly.  There 
is  a  legitimate  distinction  to  be  made  between 
good  sons  and  bad  sons ;  but  both  equally  possess 
sonship  if  they  are  sons  at  all.  God  is  said  to 
chasten  His  own  because  they  are  sons,  but  cer- 
tainly not  that  they  may  become  sons.  Human 
merit  must  be  excluded.  It  cannot  be  related 
to  these  divine  transformations  of  grace;  nor 
could  they  abide  eternally  the  same  if  depending 
by  the  slightest  degree  on  the  finite  resources. 
They  are  made  to  stand  on  the  unchanging  Person 
and  merit  of  the  eternal  Son  of  God.  There  are 
other  and  sufficient  motives  for  Christian  conduct 
than  the  effort  to  create  such  eternal  facts  of  the 
divine  life.  The  Christian  is  "accepted  (now 
and  forever)  in  the  beloved." 

Fourth,  Every  position  is  eternal  by  its  very 
nature.  The  imparted  life  of  God  is  as  eternal 
in  its  character  as  its  Fountain  Head.  Hence  the 
Word  of  His  grace:  "I  give  unto  them  eternal 
life  and  they  shall  never  perish."  The  conscious- 
ness and  personal  realization  of  such  relationship 


The  Riches  of  Grace  in  Christ  Jesus     59 

never  subject  to  change  in  time  or  eternity. 

Fifth,  These  positions  are  known  only  through 
a  divine  revelation.  They  defy  human  imagina- 
tion, and  since  they  cannot  be  experienced  their 
reality  can  be  entered  into  only  by  believing  the 
Word  of  God.  These  eternal  riches  of  grace  are 
for  the  lowest  sinner  who  will  only  believe. 

That  God  may  in  some  measure  be  glorified, 
some,  if  not  all,  of  these  position  are  here  given. 
"The  half  has  never  been  told."  The  reader  is 
humbly  invited  to  remember  that  these  things 
are  now  true  of  each  one  who  believes,  and  if 
there  should  be  the  slightest  doubt  as  to  whether 
he  has  believed,  that  question  can  be  forever  set- 
tled even  before  the  following  pages  are  read : 

I.     In  the  Eternal  Plan  of  God: 

1.  foreknown,  "For  whom  he  did  foreknow,  he 
also  did  predestinate  to  be  conformed  to  the  image 
of  his  Son'    (Rom.  8:  29.     See  also  1  Pet.  1:2). 

2.  .Elect,   "Knowing,   brethren  beloved,   your 
election  of  "God"  (1  Thes.  1:4.     See  also  1  Pet. 
1:2;  Rom.  8:33;  Col.  3:12;  Tit.  1:1). 

3.  Predestinated,    "Being    predestinated    ac- 
cording to  the  purpose  of  him  who  worketh  all 
things  after  the  council  of  his  own  will"   (Eph. 
1:11;  Rom.   8:29,   30;   Eph.   1:5). 

4.  Chosen,  "For  many  are  called,  but  few  are 
chosen"  (Mt.  22:14;  1  Pet.  2:4). 

5.  Called,  "Faithful  is  he  that  calleth  you" 
(1  Thes.  5l  24,  etc.). 

II.     Reconciled: 


60  Salvation 

1.  E^oncjledJbjjGad,  "And  all  things  are  of 
God,  who  hath  reconciled  us  to  himself  by  Jesus 
Christ"  (2  Cor.  5:18,  19;  Col.  1:20).  " 

2.  Reconciled   to    God,    "Much    more    being 
reconciled  to  Go(F~£Ilom.  5:10;  2  Cor.  5:20). 

777.     Redeemed: 

1.  Redeemed  by  God,  "In  whom  we  have  re- 
demption through  his  blood"  (Col.  1:  14;  1  Pet. 
1:18;  Eom.  3:24,  etc.). 

2.  2.     Out  of  all  condemnation,  "There  is  there- 

fore now  no  condemnation  to  them  which  are  in 
Christ  Jesus"  (Rom.  8:1;  Jno.  5:24;  1  Cor. 
11:32;  Jno.  3:18). 

IV.  Related  to  God  Through  a  Propitiation: 
1.     "And  he  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins: 

and  not  for  OUT'S  only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of 
the  whole  world"  (1  Jno.  2:2;  Rom.  3:  25,  26). 

V.  All  Sins  Coygr&UJBy  Atoning  Blood: 

1.  "Who  his  own  self  bare  our  sins  in  his 
body  on  the  tree"  (1  Pet.  2:24;  Rom.  4:25, 
etc.). 

VI.  Vitally  Conjoined  to  Christ  for  Judgment 
of  the  "Old  Man'  Unto  a  New  Walk: 

1.  "Crucified  with   Christ,"   "Knowing  this, 
that  our  old  man  was  crucified  with  him"  (Rom. 
6:6). 

2.  "Djsa_d    with    Christ,"    "Now    if    we    be 
dead  with  Christ"  (Rom.  6:8);  "We  being  dead 
to  sin"  (1  Pet.  2:24). 

3.  "Buried   with    him,"    "Therefore   we    are 
buried  with  him  by  baptism  into  death"   (Rom. 
6:4;  Col.  2:12). 

4.  Raised  with  Christ  to  walk  by  a  new  life 


The  Riches  of  Grace  in  Christ  Jesus     61 

principle,  "That  like  as  Christ  was  raised  up  from 
the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father,  even  so  we 
also  should  walk  in  newness  of  life"  (Rom.  6:4; 
Col.  3:1). 

VII.  Free  from  the  Law: 

1.  "Dead,"  "Wherefore,  my  brethren,  ye  also 
are  dead  to  the  law  by  the  body  of  Christ"  (Rom. 
7:4). 

2.  "Dejiyered,"  "Now  we  are  delivered  from 
the  law"   (Rom.  7:6;  Gal.  3:25;  Rom.  6:14; 
2  Cor.  3:11). 

VIII.  Children  of  God: 

1.  "Born  again,"  "Ye  must  be  born  again" 
(Jno.  3:7;  1:12;  1  Pet.  1:23). 

2.  "Quickened,"    or   made   alive,    "And   you 
hath  he  quickened,  who  were  dead  in  trespasses 
and  sins"  (Eph.  2:1;  Col.  2:13). 

3.  "Sons  of  God,"  "Beloved,  now  are  we  the 
sons  of  God"   (1  Jno.  3:3;  2  Cor.  6:18;  Gal. 
3:26). 

4.  "A   new   creation,"    "If   any   man   be   in 
Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature"  (creation)   (2  Cor. 
5:17;  Gal.  6:15;  Eph.  2:10). 

5.  "Regeneration,"    "But    according    to    his 
mercy  he  saved  us,  by  the  washing  of  regeneration, 
and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost"    (Tit.   3:5; 
Jno.  13:10;  1  Cor.  6:11). 

IX.  Adopted  (placed  as  adult  sons)  : 

1.  "Ye  have  received  the  Spirit  of  adoption" 
(Rom.  8  :  15,  etc.  So,  also,  a  future  adoption, 
see  Rom.  8:23,  etc.). 

X.  Acceptable  to  God  ~by  Jesus  Christ: 

1.     "Made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him," 


62  Salvation 

"Even  the  rj^tgousness  of  God  which  is  by  faith 
of  Jesus  Christ  unto  all  and  upon  all  them  that 
believe"  (Rom.  3 :  22 ;  1  Cor.  1 :  30 ;  2  Cor.  5 :  21 ; 
Phil.  3:9). 

2.  Sanctified  positionally,  "Christ  Jesus,  who 
is  made  unto  us  *  *  *  sanctification"    (1   Cor. 
1:  30;  6:  11).     This  is  in  no  way  to  be  confused 
with  experimental  sanctification  as  mentioned  in 
Jno.   17 :  17,   or  the  final  perfection  of  the  be- 
liever (Eph.  5 :  27 ;  1  Jno.  3:3). 

3.  "Perfected  for  ever,"  "For  by  one  offering 
he  hath  perfected  forever  them  that  are  sancti- 
fied"  (Heb.  10:14). 

4.  "Made   accepted   in   the   Beloved"    (Eph. 
1:6;  1  Pet.  2:5). 

5.  "Made  _Jfet,"    "Giving    thanks    to    the 
^3         Father,  which  hath  made  us  meet  to  be  partakers 

of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light"  (Col. 
1:12). 

XI.  Justified: 

1.     "Therefore  being  justified  by  faith"  (Rom. 
5:1;  3:24;  8:30;  1  Cor.  6:11;  Tit.  3:7). 

XII.  Forgiven  All  Tresspass: 

1.  "In  whom  we  have  redemption  through 
his  blood,  even  the  forgiveness  of  sins"  (Col. 
1:14;  2:13;  3: 13;  Eph.  1:7;  4:  32.  A  distinc- 
tion is  necessary  here  between  the  complete  and 
abiding  judicial  forgiveness  and  the  oft-repeated 
forgiveness  within  the  family  of  God.  See  1 
"Jno.  i:"9). 

XIII.  Made  Nigh: 

1.     "But  now  in  Christ  Jesus  ye  who  some- 
times were  far  off  are  made  nigh  by  the  blood  of 


The  Riches  of  Grace  in  Christ  Jesus     63 

Christ"  (Eph.  2:13.  With  this  there  is  a 
corresponding  experience ;  see  Jas.  4:8;  Heb. 
10:22). 

XIV.  Delivered  from  the  Powers  of  Darkness : 
1.     "Who  hath  delivered  us  from  the  powers 

of  darkness"  (Col.  1:  13;  2:  13-15). 

XV.  Translated  into  the  Kingdom: 

1.  "And  hath  translated  us  into  the  kingdom 
of  his  dear  Son"  (Col.  1:  13). 

XVI.  On  the  Rock  Christ  Jesus: 

1.  "For  other  foundation  can  no  man  lay 
than  that  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ"  (1  Cor. 
3:11;  Eph.  2:20;  2  Cor.  1:21). 

XVII.  A  Gift  from  God  to  Christ: 

1.  "I  have  manifested  thy  name  unto  the  men 
which  thou  gavest  me  out  of  the  world :  thine  they 
were,  and  thou  gavest  them  me"  ( Jno.  17:6;  11, 
12,  20;  Jno.  10:29). 

XVIII.  Circumcised  in  Christ: 

1.  "In  whom  also  ye  are  circumcised  with 
the  circumcision  made  without  hands,  in  putting 
off  of  the  body  of  the  sins  of  the  flesh  by  the 
circumcision  of  Christ"  (Col.  2:11;  Phil.  3:3; 
Kom.  2:29). 

XIX.  Partakers    of    the    Holy    and    Royal 
Priesthood: 

1.  l^Holy    priesthood,"    "Ye    also,    as    lively 
stones,   are  built  up  a  spiritual  house,   an  holy 
priesthood"  (1  Pet.  2:5). 

2.  "Royal  priesthood,"  "But  ye  are  *  *  *  a 
royal  priesthood"  (1  Pet.  2:9;  Rev.  1:6). 

XX.  A    Chosen   Generation  and  a  Peculiar 
People: 


64  Salvation 

1.  "But  ye  are  a  chosen  generation,  *  *  *  a 
peculiar  people"  (1  Pet.  2:9;  Tit.  2:14). 

XXI.  Having  Access  to  God: 

1.  "For  through  him  we  both  have  ac- 
cess by  one  Spirit  unto  the  Father"  (Eph. 
2:18;  Kom.  5:2;  Heb.  4:14-16;  10:19, 
20). 

XXII.  Within  the  "Much  More"  Care  of  God 
(Rom.  5 :  9,  10)  : 

1.  Objects  of  His  love,  "But  God,  who  is  rich 
in  mercy,  for  his  great  love  wherewith  he  loved 
us"  (Eph.  2:4;  5:2,  etc.). 

2.  Objects  of  His  grace, 

a,  For  salvation,   "For  by  grace  are  ye 
saved"   (Eph.  2:8). 

b,  For  keeping,  "By  whom  also  we  have 
access  by  faith  into  this  grace  wherein  we 
stand"  (Eom.  5:2). 

c,  For  service,  "But  to  every  one  of  us  is 
this  grace  given"   (Eph.  2:7). 

d,  For  instruction,  "For  the  grace  of  God 
that  bringeth  salvation  hath  appeared  to  all 
men,  teaching  us  that,  denying  ungodliness 
and  worldly  lusts,   we  should  live  soberly, 
righteously,  and  godly,  in  this  present  age" 
(Tit.  2:12,  13). 

3.  Objects  of  His  power,  "And  what  is  the 
exceeding   greatness    of    his    power    to    usward" 
(Eph.  1:19;  Phil.  2:13). 

4.  Objects  of  His  faithfulness,  "For  he  hath 
said,  I  will  never  leave  thee,  nor  forsake  thee" 
(Heb.  13:5;  Phil.  1:6). 

5.  Objects  of  His  peace,  "And  let  the  peace  of 


The  Riches  of  Grace  in  Christ  Jesus      65 

God  rule  in  your  hearts,  to  the  which   ye  are 
called  in  one  body"   (Col.  3:15). 

6.  Objects  of  His  consolation,   "Our  Father 
which  hath  loved  us,  and  hath  given  us  everlast- 
ing consolation"    (2  Thes.  2:16). 

7.  Objects   of   His    intercession,    "Seeing   he 
ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  them"  (Heb. 
7:25;  Eom.  8:34;  Heb.  9:24). 

XXIII.  His  Inheritance: 

1.  "That  ye  may  know  what  is  the  hope  of 
his  calling,  and  what  the  riches  of  the  glory  of 
his  inheritance  in  the  saints"  (Eph.  1:18). 

XXIV.  Our  Inheritance: 

1.  "An  inheritance  incorruptible,  and  unde- 
filed,  and  that  f  adeth  not  away,  reserved  in  heaven 
for  you"  (1  Pet.  1:4;  Eph.  1:14;  Col.  3:24; 
Heb.  9:15). 

XXV.  A  Heavenly  Association  (Eph.  2:6): 

1.  Partners    with     Christ     in    life,     "When 
Christ,  who  is  our  life,  shall  appear"  (Col.  3:4; 
1  Jno.  5: 11,  12,  etc.). 

2.  Partners  with  Christ  in  position,  "And  hath 
raised  us  up  together,  and  made  us  sit  together  in 
the  heavenly  in  Christ  Jesus"   (Eph.  ,2:6). 

3.  Partners  with  Christ  in  service,   "God  is 
faithful,  by  whom  ye  were  called  into  fellowship 
(partnership)    with   his    Son    Jesus    Christ    our 
Lord"    (1    Cor._X;  9) ;    "Workers  together  with 
God"  (1  Cpr.^Sj  9)  ;  "Workers  together  with  him" 
(2  Cor._6:  1)7  "Ambassadors"    (2  Cor^5:  20)  ; 
"Ministers  of  God"  (2  Cor.  6:  4)  ;  "Ministers  of 
the  New  Testament"   (2  Cor.'  3:6);  "Epistles" 
(2  Cor.  3:3). 


66  Salvation 

4.  Partners  with  Christ  in  suffering,  "If  we 
suffer,  we  shall  also  reign  with  him"    (2   Tim. 

-&O2;  Phil.  1:29;  1  Pet.  2:20;  4:12,  13;  1 
Thes.  3:3;  Kom.  8:18;  Col.  1:24). 

5.  Partners  with  Christ  in  betrothal,  "That 
I  may  present  you  a  chaste  virgin  to  Christ"  (2 
Cor.  11:2;  Eph.  5:25-27). 

XXVI.  Heavenly  Citizens: 

1.  "For  our  citizenship  is  in  heaven"  (Phil. 
3:20,  K.  V.;  Eph.  2:19;  Heb.  12:22;  Lk. 
10:20). 

XXVII.  Of   the  Family  and  Household  of 
God: 

1.  "Fellowcitizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the 
household  of  God"  (Eph.  2:19;  3:15;  Gal. 
6:10). 

XXVIII.  Light  in  the  Lord: 

I  1.     "Now  are  ye  light   in  the   Lord"    (Eph. 

5:8;  1  Thes.  5:4). 

XXIX.  Vitally   United  to  the  Father,  Son, 
and  Spirit: 

1.  "In  God"  (1  Thes.  1:1). 

2.  "In  CFrist"    (Jno.   14:20). 

a,  A  member  in  His  body  (1  Cor.  12 :  13). 

b,  A  branch  in  the  Vine  (Jno.  15 :  5). 

c,  A  stomTin  the  building  (Eph.  2 :  19-22). 

d,  A  sheep  in  His  flock  (Jno.  10:  27-29). 

e,  A  part  of  His  bride  (Eph.  5 :  25-27). 

f,  A  priest  of  the  kingdom  of  priests   (1 
Pet.  2:5,  9). 

g,  A  saint  of  the  "new  generation"  (1  Pet. 
2:9). 

3.  "In  the  Spirit"  (Rom.  8:9). 


The  Riches  of  Grace  in  Christ  Jesus     67 

XXX.  Blessed  with  the  "First  Fruits"  and 
the  "Earnest"  of  the  Spirit: 

1.  "Born  of  the  Spirit"  (Jno.  3:  6,  etc.). 

2.  "Baptized  with  the  Spirit/'  "For  by  one 
Spirit  are  we  all  baptized  into  one  body"  (1  Cor. 
12:13;  10:17). 

3.  Indwelt  by  the   Spirit.      "What?     Know 
ye  not  that  your  body  is  the  temple  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  which  is  in  you,  which  ye  have  of  God, 
and  ye  are  not  your  own"  (1  Cor.  6:  19;  2:  12; 
Jno.  7 :  39  ;  Rom.  5  :  5  ;  8 :  9 ;  2  Cor.  1:21;  Gal. 
4:6;  1  Jno.  3:24). 

4.  "Sealed  by  the  Spirit,"  "And  grieve  not 
the  holy  Spirit  of  God,  whereby  ye  are  sealed 
unto  the  day  of  redemption"  (Eph.  4:  30;  2  Cor. 
1:22). 

XXXI.  Glorified: 

1.  "And  whom  he  justified,  them  he  also  glori- 
fied" (Rom.  8:30). 

XXXII.  Complete  in  Him: 

1.  "And  ye  are  complete  in  him,  which  is 
the  head  of  all  principality  and  power"  (Col. 
2:10). 

XXXIII.  Possessing  Every  Spiritual  Bless- 
ing: 

1.  "Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  blessed  us  with  all 
spiritual  blessings  in  the  heavenly  in  Christ" 
(Eph.  1:3). 

Such  is  the  work  which  is  now  fully  accom- 
plished in  and  for  the  lowliest  sinner  who  has 

believed   on   the  .  Lord   Jesus    Christ.      It   is    all 

' 

superhuman  and  God  alone  could  do  it:  nay,  if 


68  Salvation 

man  could  even  have  any  part  in  that  work  it 
would  at  that  point  of  contact  be  imperfect,  and 
therefore  be  blasted  and  ruined  forever.  These 
marvels  of  grace  constitute  that  "good  work" 
which  He  has  but  begun  in  those  who  trust  Him. 
To  this  much  more  is  yet  to  be  added  according 
to  Phil.  1 :  6.  "He  that  hath  begun  a  good  work 
j  in  you,  will  perform  it,  until  the  day  of  Jesus 
Christ."  The  "riches  of  grace"  are  the  begin- 
s~J  ning;  the  final  presentation  in  glory  in  the  like- 
"  ness  of  Christ  will  be  the  completion.  Such  a 
final  perfection  and  such  an  eternal  being  is  the 
greatest  divine  undertaking  for  the  one  who  has 
been  lost  in  sin.  Nothing  less  than  this  would 
satisfy  the  infinite  love  of  God.  That  He  might 
thus  be  free  to  satisfy  His  boundless  love  for  us 
He  met  all  the  issues  of  sin  for  a  lost  and  ruined 
world,  and  so  perfectly  has  He  wrought  that  man 
need  now  but  believe  and  thus  receive  the  bounty 
of  His  grace.  It  is  "Grace  reigning  through 
righteousness."  "For  God  has  concluded  them 
all  in  unbelief,  that  he  might  have  mercy  upon  all. 
O  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and 
knowledge  of  God !  How  unsearchable  are  his 
judgments,  and  his  ways  past  finding  out!  For 
who  hath  known  the  mind  of  the  Lord?  Or 
who  hath  been  his  counsellor  ?  Or  who  hath  first 
given  to  him,  and  it  shall  be  recompensed  unto 
him  again?  For  of  him,  and  through  him,  and 
to  him,  are  all  things :  to  whom  be  glory  for  ever. 
Amen." 


CHAPTER  VH 

TWO  CAKDINAL  FACTS 

OF  THE  foregoing  thirty-three  positions  into  which 
a  believer  is  brought  by  the  sufficient  power  and 
sovereign  grace  of  God,  two  should  be  considered 
at  length;  both  because  of  their  prominence  on 
the  Sacred  Pages  and  because  of  their  funda- 
mental character.  They  are  both  stated  in  Jno. 
14 :  20,  and  are  the  words  of  Christ :  "Ye  in 
me,  and  I  in  you."  Though  the  choice  of  words 
here  would  remind  one  of  the  first  page  of  a 
child's  primer,  these  words,  nevertheless,  contain, 
in  germ  form,  two  great  lines  of  truth  which  are 
subsequently  developed  in  the  Epistles  of  the  New 
Testament.  True  these  words  present  a  paradox 
to  human  minds ;  but  this  may  be  but  added  evi- 
dence of  their  divine  character.  There  are  no 
paradoxes  with  God. 

In  this  passage  the  saved  one  is  first  said  to  be 
"in  Christ."  This  particular  phrase,  with  its 
equivalent  "in  Him,"  is  used  many  times  in  the 
New  Testament  and  with  deep  meaning.  It  is 
found  twenty-eight  times  in  the  first  chapter  of 
Ephesians  alone.  The  phrase  states  a  position  in 
Christ  which  means  nothing  less  than  an  organic 
union  with  Christ.  This  union  is  formed  through 
the  power  of  God  when  one  is  saved.  It  is  the 
work  of  the  Spirit  by  which  a  member  is  baptized 
into  the  one  body.  Two  figures  are  used  in  the 

69 


70  Salvation 

Bible  to  illustrate  this  union:  The  vine  and  the 
branches,  and  the  head  with  its  members  in  the 
body.  We  are  familiar  with  the  process  of  graft- 
ing a  branch  into  a  tree,  but  not  so  familiar  with 
the  thought  of  joining  a  member  into  a  human 
body;  yet  this  is  the  exact  meaning  of  this  Scrip- 
ture. There  is  a  time  when  the  individual  is 
without  Christ;  and  again  a  time  when,  through 
believing,  he  is  "in  Christ."  This  stupendous 
change  is  described  in  1  Cor.  12 :  13 :  "For  by 
one  Spirit  are  we  all  baptized  into  one  body, 
whether  we  be  Jews  or  Gentiles,  whether  we  be 
bond  or  free;  and  have  been  all  made  to  drink 
into  one  Spirit."  This  organism  which  is  com- 
posed of  Christ  the  Head  and  all  the  members 
joined  to  Him  by  the  Spirit  is  that  which  in 
the  Bible  is  called  "the  church  which  is  his  body." 
This  must  be  distinguished  from  all  outward,  or 
visible,  organizations.  To  this  organism,  His 
body,  every  believer  is  perfectly  and  eternally 
joined  by  the  baptism  of  the  Spirit  at  the  instant 
he  believes.  He  is  then  "in  Christ." 

To  be  in  Christ  is  to  possess  a  new  standing  be- 
fore God;  a  standing  which  is  no  less  than  the 
infinite  righteousness  of  God. 

The  word  "righteousness"  is  used  with  four 
distinct  meanings  in  the  New  Testament  and 
the  various  meanings  should  always  be  held  in 
mind.  (1)  God  Himself  is  said  to  be  righteous 
(Kom.  3:25,  26);  (2)  Self-righteousness,  ex- 
pressed by  Paul  as  "mine  own  righteousness" 
(Phil.  3:9),  "Their  own  righteousness"  (Kom. 
10:2);  (3)  A  righteousness  of  daily  life  which 


Two  Cardinal  Facts  71 

is  produced  in  the  believer  by  the  unhindered 
Spirit  (Rom.  8:4);  (4)  The  righteousness  of 
God  which  is  said  to  be  reckoned  to  the  one  who 
believes:  "A  righteousness  from  God  which  is 
unto  all  and  upon  all  who  believe"  (Rom.  3 :  22). 
The  fourth  meaning  of  the  word  is  that  aspect 
of  righteousness  which  is  now  under  consideration 
and  that  which  provides  the  child  of  God  with  a 
perfect  standing.  This  righteousness  must  be 
absolutely  disassociated  from  all  other  forms  of 
righteousness.  It  is  not  an  attribute  of  God;  it 
is  in  no  way  produced  in  life  by  the  Spirit ;  and 
is  as  certainly  unrelated  to  self-righteousness  in 
every  form.  It  is  in  no  way  related  to  right  con- 
duct. It  is  that  which  we  become  when  we  are 
vitally  joined  to  Christ. 

A  human  member  severed  from  a  body  is  both 
meritless  and  loathsome  in  itself;  but  if  it  were 
instantly  and  perfectly  joined  to  a  living  body  it 
would  at  once  lose  its  former  character,  and  from 
that  time  forth  it  would  be  recognized  and  hon- 
ored as  a  part  of  the  new  body  iso.  which  it  is 
found.  If  that  new  organism  was  the  body  of 
the  most  honored  person  in  the  world,  the  new 
standing  of  that  new  member  would  be  that  of 
the  one  to  whom  it  is  joined.  In  like  manner  if 
that  new  person  to  whom  a  member  is  joined  is 
the  Christ  of  God,  that  new  member  will  have  a 
standing  which  is  none  other  than  the  righteous- 
ness of  God. 

This,  it  must  be  repeated,  is  not  a  righteousness 
of  man's  making :  it  is  distinctly  said  to  be  "made" 
unto  the  believer  by  God  Himself.  This  is  clear 


72  Salvation 

from  the  following  passages:  "Christ  Jesus, 
who  of  God  is  made  unto  us  *  *  *  righteousness" 
(1  Cor.  1 :  30)  ;  "For  he  hath  made  him  to  be  sin 
for  us,  who  knew  no  sin;  that  we  might  be  made 
the  righteousness  of  God  in  him"  (2  Cor.  5:21); 
"For  I  bear  them  record  that  they  have  a  zeal  of 
God,  but  not  according  to  knowledge.  For  they 
being  ignorant  of  God's  righteousness,  and  going 
about  to  establish  their  own  righteousness,  have 
not  submitted  themselves  unto  the  righteousness 
of  God.  For  Christ  is  the  end  of  the  law  for 
righteousness  to  every  one  that  believeth"  (Rom. 
10 :  2-4)  ;  "That  I  may  win  Christ,  and  be  found 
in  him,  not  having  mine  own  righteousness,  which 
is  of  the  law,  but  that  which  is  through  the 
faith  of  Christ,  the  righteousness  which  is  of 
God  by  faith"  (Phil.  3:8,  9);  "But  now  the 
righteousness  of  God  without  the  law  is  mani- 
fested, being  witnessed  by  the  law  and  the 
prophets;  even  the  righteousness  of  God  which  is 
by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ  unto  all  and  upon  all 
them  that  believe"  (Rom.  3:  21,  22)  ;  "For  what 
saith  the  scriptures?  Abraham  believed  God, 
and  it  was  counted  unto  him  for  righteousness. 
Now  to  him  that  worketh  is  the  reward  not  reck- 
oned of  grace,  but  of  debt.  But  to  him  that 
worketh  not,  but  believeth  on  him  that  justifieth 
the  ungodly,  his  faith  is  counted  for  righteousness. 
Even  as  David  also  described  the  blessedness  of 
the  man,  unto  whom  God  imputeth  righteousness 
without  works"  (Rom.  4:3-6);  "And  therefore  it 
was  imputed  to  him  (Abraham)  for  righteous- 
ness. Now  it  was  not  written  for  his  sake  alone, 


Two  Cardinal  Facts  73 

that  it  was  imputed  unto  him;  but  for  us  also, 
to  whom  it  shall  be  imputed,  if  we  believe  on 
him  that  raised  up  Jesus  our  Lord  from  the  dead ; 
who  was  delivered  for  our  offences,  and  was  raised 
again  for  our  justification"  (Rom.  4:22-25); 
"Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the 
law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us,"  and  "He  hath 
made  us  accepted  in  the  beloved"  (Gal.  3 : 13 ; 
Eph.  1:6);  "I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ,  *  *  *  For  therein  is  the  righteousness  of 
God  revealed  (a  righteousness  from  God)  from 
faith  to  faith"  (Rom.  1:16,  17). 

Such  are  the  marvels  of  His  grace.  Of  our- 
selves we  could  be  only  conscious  of  our  failure 
and  sin,  and  wholly  unable  to  provide  a  cure.  He 
is  able  to  make  us  the  very  righteousness  of  God 
in  Christ.  As  we  are  made  righteous  in  His  sight, 
He  is  able  to  justify  us  now  and  forever  "from  all 
things  from  which  we  could  not  be  justified  by 
the  law  of  Moses."  "We  are  justified  freely  by 
his  grace  through  the  redemption  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus." 

This  bestowed  righteousness,  then,  is  Christ 
who  is  the  very  righteousness  of  God,  and  He  is 
made  the  righteousness  of  God  unto  us  when  we 
are  found  in  Him.  Such  is  the  standing  before 
God  of  every  saved  person  whether  he  has  come 
to  understand  his  position  or  not. 

There  are  practical  values,  however,  in  coming 
to  know  that  we  are  now  made  the  righteousness  of 
God,  and  that  this  righteousness  is  so  unrelated 
to  our  own  merit,  or  demerit,  and  so  related  to 
Christ  that  it  can  and  will  abide  without  change 


74  Salvation 

through  all  eternity.  Such  knowledge  will  result 
in  indescribable  peace  of  soul.  Oh  the  burden  and 
yoke  of  a  law  that  is  always  broken !  The  thought 
of  a  God  Who  is  never  satisfied !  A  standing  that 
is  always  hopeless  because  of  our  utter  helpless- 
ness! Then  to  know  the  liberty  into  which  we 
have  been  brought  that  we  need  no  longer  vainly 
strive  to  make  ourselves  acceptable  to  God,  but 
can  believe  that  we  are  "made  acceptable  to  God 
by  Jesus  Christ,"  and  on  no  lower  plain  than  that 
of  the  infinite  Person  of  our  Lord !  There  is  in- 
describable rest  and  peace  in  realizing  that  we 
are  already  "accepted  in  the  beloved."  Such  rest 
and  peace  would  come  to  a  multitude  of  God's 
children  if  they  but  knew  and  believed  the  word 
of  His  grace. 

To  know  our  perfect  standing  in  Christ  does 
not  lead  to  laxity  in  daily  life:  it  is  the  strongest 
possible  incentive  to  holy  living  that  human  heart 
can  know.  Let  there  be  no  idle  speculation  here. 
It  is  the  testimony  of  the  Spirit  of  God  we  are 
dealing  with,  and  that  testimony  is  to  the  effect 
that  man's  merit,  or  demerit,  cannot  become  a 
qualifying  factor  in  the  bestowed  righteousness 
of  God.  It  is  distinctly  for  the  one  who  "work- 
eth  not."  Carelessness  of  life  has  never  resulted 
from  believing  this  revelation.  God  is  most  evi- 
dently concerned  with  the  quality  of  the  daily 
life  of  His  child;  but  such  an  issue  cannot  be 
raised  here.  The  divine  order  cannot  be  safely 
ignored,  whieh  is  first  to  reveal  the  grace  posi- 
tion, and  then  to  appeal  for  the  corresponding 
manner  of  daily  life.  God's  children  are  too  often 


Two  Cardinal  Facts  75 

fed  on  mere  injunctions  with  no  reference  to  the 
corresponding  and  related  positions.  This  will 
always  result  in  a  hardening  of  heart  and  care- 
lessness of  life.  God  has  clearly  related  the  posi- 
tion to  the  conduct  and  in  a  positive  order,  and 
it  is  perilous  to  omit  any  aspect  of  the  truth  or 
to  change  the  divine  order  of  its  application. 
True  heart-searching  and  moral  judgments  fol- 
low almost  without  exhortation  in  those  who  come 
to  understand  the  exceeding  grace  of  God  in  their 
behalf. 

The  second  vital  fact  mentioned  in  Jno.  14 :  20 
is  stated  in  the  words  of  Christ,  "I  in  you."  Not 
only  is  the  heliever  "in  Christ,"  but  Christ  is  in 
the  believer.  This  is  the  fundamental  Biblical 
fact  concerning  the  Christian.  He  has  received 
a  deposit  of  eternal  life,  something  entirely  new 
to  him,  which  is  not  known  to  any  human  being 
excepting  those  who  have  believed  on  Christ. 
Jesus  said,  "I  am  come  that  they  might  have 
life."  This  is  a  new  life  imparted,  rather  than 
a  mere  inspiration  or  example  for  living.  It  is 
on  this  sole  point  of  possessing  the  new  life  that 
all  Christian  profession  is  to  be  judged.  "Ex- 
amine yourselves  whether  ye  be  in  the  faith ;  prove 
your  own  selves.  Know  ye  not  your  own  selves, 
how  that  Jesus  Christ  is  in  you,  except  ye  be 
reprobates?"  (2  Cor.  13:5).  There  are  upwards 
of  eighty-five  New  Testament  passages  referring 
directly  to  this  fact  of  a  new  imparted  divine 
life.  When  these  are  considered,  it  will  be  found 
that  this  life  is  never  possessed  by  an  unsaved 
person;  but  it  is  revealed  to  be  as  certainly  the 


76  Salvation 

present  possession  of  every  saved  person,  even  the 
least  of  all  believers.  "He  that  believeth  on  the 
Son  hath  everlasting  life." 

It  is  also  revealed  that  this  new  life  is  none 
other  than  the  indwelling  Son  of  God.  "He  that 
hath  the  Son  hath  life;  and  he  that  hath  not  the 
Son  of  God  hath  not  life"  (1  Jno.  5 : 12)  ;  "When 
Christ,  who  is  our  life,  shall  appear"  (Col.  3:4); 
"Christ  liveth  in  me"  (Gal.  2:20);  "Christ 
in  you  the  hope  of  glory"  (Col.  1:27).  This 
indwelling  One  being  the  Son  of  God  and  eter- 
nal, the  life  is  eternal.  "I  give  unto  them  eternal 
life;  and  they  shall  never  perish"  (Jno.  10:  28)  ; 
"The  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord"  (Kom.  6:23). 

This  is  the  great  supernatural  fact  of  regen- 
eration. By  this  regeneration  legitimate  chil- 
dren of  God  are  formed  who  are  by  all  right 
and  title  the  true  sons  of  God,  and  if  sons,  heirs 
of  God  and  joint-heirs  with  Jesus  Christ.  They 
form  a  "new  generation"  or  species,  and  their 
destiny  is,  in  consonance  with  their  new  divine 
nature,  in  the  eternal  glory  of  the  household  and 
family  of  God. 

The  practical  value  of  knowing  this  relation 
to  God,  or  to  be  able  to  say,  "Christ  liveth  in  me," 
is  but  to  be  impelled  to  go  on  to  the  place  wherein 
it  may  also  be  said,  "and  the  life  I  now  live,  I 
live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God  who  loved 
me  and  gave  himself  for  me."  As  certainly  as 
a  member  is  vitally  joined  to  the  body,  so  cer- 
tainly the  life  of  the  Head  flows  into  that  mem- 
ber, and  by  this  new  vitality  it  is  alive  and  in 


Two  Cardinal  Facts  77 

possession  of  every  vital  power.  It  also  follows 
that  such  a  member  should  be  wholly  submissive 
to  the  mind  and  will  of  the  Head.  How  impera- 
tive, reasonable  and  blessed  it  is  to  be  wholly 
yielded  to  Him  that  every  thought  of  His  great 
heart  may  find  instant  and  perfect  expression 
through  every  member  in  His  own  body ! 


CHAPTER  VIII 

ASSURANCE  OF  SALVATION 

FKOM  the  testimony  of  the  Scriptures,  a  Chris- 
tian should  know  that  he  is  saved.  There  is 
abundant  Biblical  witness  on  this  point,  and  it 
can  hardly  be  deemed  commendable  to  be  in  doubt 
on  this  vital  question;  yet  to  many  it  may  seem 
to  be  presumptuous  in  the  extreme  for  one  to  be 
assured  of  his  own  salvation.  Where  there  is  a 
lack  of  assurance  there  is  usually  an  impression 
that  so  long  as  the  daily  life  is  quite  imperfect 
(and  how  immodest  it  would  be  to  claim  that  it  is 
otherwise)  it  is  unreasonable  to  do  any  more  than 
hope  that  through  some  special  exercise  of  mercy 
on  God's  part  it  will  not  be  as  bad  in  the  end 
as  it  might  otherwise  be.  Unwittingly  such  atti- 
tudes of  mind  disclose  the  appaling  fact  that  per- 
sons who  hold  such  views  have  never  turned  from 
dependence  on  their  own  works,  and  merit  to  a 
dependence  on  the  all-sufficient  work  and  merit  of 
Christ.  If  salvation  depends  in  any  degree  on 
personal  goodness,  there  could  not  be  even  a  saved 
person  in  the  world,  and  therefore  no  ground  in 
it  for  assmajjce.  Salvation  is  not  offered  to  those 
who  have  purposed  to  be  good,  or  religious,  nor  is 
it  guaranteed  to  those  who  hope  God  will  Him- 
self be  good  and  gracious  in  the  end.  It  is  of- 
fered to  all  meritless,  helpless  sinners  who  are 
willing  to  believe  that  God  has  already  been  good 

78 


Assurance  of  Salvation  79 

in  that  He  has  provided,  in  Christ,  not  only  what 
they  need  now,  but  all  they  need  in  time  and 
for  eternity.  This,  too,  is  believed  on  no  other 
evidence  than  that  God  has  said  it  in  His  Word. 
In  looking  away  from  self  and  one's  failure  to 
Christ  and  His  saving  grace,  one  will  find  ade- 
quate grounds  for  a  God-honoring  certainty  as  to 
position  and  destiny  in  Christ  Jesus.  No  life 
would  ever  be  good  enough  to  merit  anything  but 
condemnation  from  a  holy  God  if  judged  on  the 
grounds  of  moral  equity.  On  the  other  hand,  no 
sinner  has  fallen  so  low,  or  is  so  weak  in  him- 
self, that  he  cannot  find  absolute  rest  and  assur- 
ance of  his  salvation  in  looking  away  to  Christ 
and  the  finished  provisions  of  His  grace.  The 
attitude  one  may  hold  on  the  question  of  assur- 
ance may  thus  become  somewhat  of  a  test  as  to 
whether  he  has  really  believed  on  Christ,  al- 
though it  should  not  be  assumed  that  such  is  in- 
variably the  case. 

There  are  certain  general  facts  about  Chris- 
tian assurance  which  may  well  be  stated.  The 
evidence  underlying  a  positive  conviction,  or  as- 
surance as  to  personal  salvation,  is  primarily  the 
fact  of  the  faithfulness  of  God  as  revealed  in  the 
-Wocd.  When  God  has  made  an  unconditional 
declaration  of  His  faithfulness,  it  is  hardly  be- 
coming in  one  of  His  children  to  entertain  any 
uncertainty  in  those  things  which  He  has  prom- 
ised. He  has  promised  to  save  and  keep  all  who 
put  their  trust  in  Him.  Having  put  one's  trust 
in  Him  for  salvation,  one  must  either  believe 
Him  to  do  what  He  has  said,  or  in  the  measure 


80  Salvation 

in  which  one  fails  to  do  so  suppose  Him  to  be 
untrue. 

At  this  point  a  doubt  is  sometimes  expressed 
as  to  whether  one  has  really  believed  in  the  sav- 
.way.     As  a  matter  of  fact,  such  a  doubt  is 


still  one  in  regard  to  himself  rather  than  of 
God.  This,  of  course,  is  another  question  alto- 
gether; but  one  so  important  that  nothing  else 
can  be  undertaken  or  determined  until  it  is  settled. 
The  only  cure  for  this  uncertainty  is  to  end  it 
with  certainty.  Let  such  an  one  face  his  own 
utter  sinfulness  and  meritlessness  with  the  reve- 
lations of  the  cross  and  discover,  as  he  must,  no 
hope  in  himself,  and  then  and  there,  once  for  all, 
appropriate  the  provisions  of  divine  grace  for 
every  need  of  a  sin-cursed  soul.  If  need  be,  note 
the  very  day  and  hour  of  such  a  decision  and 
then  believe  in  the  decision  itself  enough  to  thank 
God  for  His  saving  grace  and  faithfulness,  and 
in  every  thought,  act  and  word  thereafter  treat 
the  decision  as  final  and  real.  It  is  the  crying 
need  of  a  multitude  of  religious  people  that  they 
bring  themselves  to  some  final  dealing  with  the 
Son  of  God  with  regard  to  their  sins  and  His  sal- 
vation. They  should  be  positive  enough  in  this 
matter  to  face  the  eternal  question  before  Him 
as  to  whether  they  choose  to  stand  in  His  grace 
alone,  or  in  something  within  themselves,  even 
in  the  slightest  degree.  No  very  deep  conviction 
of  assurance  can  grow  in  any  heart  where  the 
mind  is  still  wondering  whether  it  has  really  be- 
lieved in  a  saving  way,  and  where  no  impressions 
of  certainty  are  allowed  to  take  root.  Confidence 


Assurance  of  Salvation  81 

in  the  faithfulness  of  God  will  not  thrive  when 
one  is  constantly  singing  hymns  which  have  been 
written  to  voice  the  position  of  the  unsaved,  such 
as  the  hymn  in  which  one  is  assuming  to  be 
"coming  to  the  cross."  Let  that  issue  be 
scaled  and  past,  so  far  as  salvation  is  concerned, 
and  rather  let  one  be  occupied  with  those  bless- 
.  ings  which  are  vouchsafed  to  those  who  have  be- 
lieved. It  would  be  much  more  reasonable  to 
sing  "In  the  cross  of  Christ  I  glory." 

/Assurance  is  born  of  confidence  in  Christ.  He 
has  said:  "Him  that  cometh  to  me  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out."  Having  come,  there  is  but  one 
question  remaining:  "Has  He  cast  me  out?" 
This,  it  will  be  noted,  is  a  serious  question  in- 
volving the  very  trust-worthiness  of  Christ.  To 
doubt  salvation  at  this  point  is  not  modest  or  com- 
mendable :  it  is  the  sin  of  distrusting  God,  or  mak- 
ing Him  untrue.  Without  faith  it  is  impossible 
to  please  God.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  quite 
possible  for  one  in  facing  this  question  to  seal 
his  confidence  in  God  by  a  faithful  "Amen"  to 
every  word  God  has  spoken  as  to  His  plan  and 
purpose  in  salvation.  Who  can  look  at  the  cross 
of  Christ  and  not  be  convinced  that  God's  love  has 
been  manifested  toward  us  and  that  He  Who  paid 
such  a  price  to  redeem  us  will  not  instantly  re- 
ceive any  soul  that  trusts  in  Him? 

The  word  of  Scripture  becomes  the  title  deed, 

or  official  writings,   as  to   the   certainty  of  the 

transaction.     "These  things  have  I  written  unto 

you  that  believe  on  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God; 

V  that  ye  may  know  that  ye  have  eternal  life." 


82  Salvation 

Such  wonderful  knowledge,  therefore,  is  to  be 
gained  through  the  things  written.  The  written 
things  are  His  exceeding  great  and  precious  prom- 
ises; but  these  promises  can  be  of  no  avail  to 
the  heart  that  will  not  believe  Him,  or  take  Him 
at  His  word.  Normal  Christian  experience  and 
the  joy  and  peace  that  results  from  believing  can 
never  even  begin  in  the  heart  until  God  has  been 
trusted  to  the  extent  that  the  record  of  His  sav- 
ing grace  has  been  believed  and  received. 

There  is  a  normal  Christian  experience.  There 
are  new  and  blessed  emotions  and  desires.  Old 
things  do  pass  away,  and  behold  all  things  do 
become  new;  but  all  such  experiences  are  but  sec- 
ondary evidence,  as  to  the  fact  of  salvation,  in 
that  they  grow  out  of  that  positive  repose  of  faith 
which  is  the  primary  evidence.  There  is  very 
much  Scripture  about  the  results  that  are  sure  to 
appear  in  a  transformed  life.  True  salvation  must 
result  in  just  such  realities.  It  is  inconceivable 
that  Christ  should  come  to  live  in  a  human  heart 
and  its  experiences  remain  unchanged^  There 
must  be,  under  such  conditions,  a  new  and  vital 
relationship  to  God  the  Father,  to  fellow-Christians 
and  to  Christ  Himself,  a  new  attitu"3e  toward 
P^ajer?  toward  the  Word,  toward  sin  and  toward 
the  unsaved.  This  is  the  view-point  of  the  Apostle 
James  when  he  contends  so  earnestly  for  works 
that  will  justify.  It  must  be  remembered,  how- 
ever, that  James  is  here  concerned  with  the  ap- 
pearance our  professions  make  to  the  outside 
world,  rather  than  of  our  acceptance  before  God. 
Men  can  judge  only  by  the^otftward  appearance, 


Assurance  of  Salvation  83 

and  works  alone  can  justify  the  Christian  profes- 
sion in  their  sight.  God  looks  on  the  heart 
and  before  Him  no  works  can  avail.  Before  God 
man  must  be  justified  by  faith  alone.  This,  James 
clearly  asserts  to  be  true  as  illustrated  in  the  case 
of  Abraham  (Jas.  2:23). 

The  First  Epistle  of  John  is  full  of  references 

to  the  outward  evidence  of  the  inward  fact  of  the 

newly   imparted   divine   life.      This   little   book, 

standing  near  the  end  of  the  Bible,  may  be  taken, 

i      in  one  sense,  as  an  examination  of  the  believer. 

"Hereby  we  know  that  we  SLOW  him,  if  we  keep 

his  commandments"    (there  is  no  reference  here 

to  the  commandments  of  Moses)  ;   "In  this  the 

children  of  God  are  manifested,  and  the  children 

^     of  the  devil:  whoso  doeth  not  righteousness  is  not 

of   God    (cf.    Jno.    6:28,    29),    neither   he   that 

U.    loveth  not  his .  brotjier" ;  "We  know  that  we  have 

passed  from  death  unto  life,  because  we  love  the 

^     brethren" ;  "Whosoever  doeth  not  righteousness  is 

not  of  God,  neither  he  that  loveth  not  his  brother"  ; 

"And  hereby  we  know  that  he  abideth  in  us,  by 

7    the  Spirit  which  he  hath  given  us" ;   "He  that 

J~    loveth  not  knoweth  not  God ;  for  God  is  love" ; 

"And  we  have  seen  and  do  testify  that  the  Father 

sent   the   Son  to  be   the   Saviour  of   the  world. 

Whosoever  shall  confess  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of 

God,  God  dwelleth  in  him,  and  he  in  God"   (cf. 

1  Cor.  12:3). 

Such  a  precious  experience  as  is  described  by 
these  passages  may  become  clouded  by  sin  or  lost 
in  the  depression  of  some  physical  weakness,  and 
were  we  depending  upon  the  experience  as  pri- 


84  Salvation 

mary  evidence  that  we  are  saved,  all  grounds  of 
assurance  would  be  swept  away.  The  primary 
evidence  is  clearly  stated  in  the  same  Epistle  as 
the  final  word  of  testing  here  given  and  the  final 
grounds  of  confidence:  "If  we  receive  the  wit- 
ness of  men,  the  witness  of  God  is  greater:  for 
this  is  the  witness  of  God  which  he  hath  testi- 
fied of  his  Son.  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  of 
God  hath  the  witness  in  himself :  he  that  believeth 
not  God  hath  made  him  q__liar ;  because  he  be- 
lieveth not  the  record  that  God  gave  of  his  Son. 
And  this  is  the  record,  that  God  hath  given  to 
us  eternal  life,  and  this  life  is  in  his  Son.  He 
that  hath  the  Son  hath  the  life ;  and  he  that  hath 
not  the  Son  of  God  hath  not  the  life.  These 
things  (about  having  the  life)  have  I  written 
unto  you  that  believe  on  the  name  of  the  Son  of 
God ;  that  ye  may  know  that  ye  have  eternal  life, 
and  that  ye  may  believe  on  the  name  of  the  Son 
of  God"  (1  Jno.  5  :  9-13).  The  possession  of  the 
indwelling  Son  of  God  is  the  abiding  fact  of  the 
newly  created  life  in  Him,  and  should  never  be 
confused  with  some  imperfect  and  changeable  ex- 
perience in  the  daily  life.  He  is  received  by  faith. 
His  presence  most  naturally  leads  to  blessed  new 
realities  in  experience.  Certainly  experience 
never  leads  to  the  realities  of  the  presence  of  the 
indwelling  Son  of  God. 

The  Bible  use  of  the  word  "assurance"  will  be 
found  in  several  passages:  "Let  us  draw  near 
with  a  true  heart  in  full  assurance  of  faith"  (Heb. 
10:22).  This  is  the  confidence  that  grows  out 
of  a  repose  of  f&Hh  in  the  faithfulness  of  God 


Assurance  of  Salvation  85 

that  He  will  fulfil  every  word  He  has  spoken. 
"And  unto  all  riches  of  the  full  assurance  of  un- 
derstanding" (Col.  2:2).  This  is  the  breadth 
of  confidence  that  grows  as  one  increasingly  en- 
ters into  the  vastness  of  God's  revelation  of  His 
grace  in  Christ  Jesus.  Some  are  so  limited  in 
spiritual  vision  when  they  believe  that  their  first 
step  in  faith  is  centered  on  one  promise  alone.  To 
such  there  will  be  a  growing  understanding  and  a 
corresponding  increase  of  confidence  and  assur- 
ance as  other  promises  and  facts  of  grace  are  ap- 
prehended. "And  we  desire  that  every  one  of 
you  do  shew  the  same  diligence  of  the  full  assur- 
ance of  hope  unto  the  end"  (Heb.  6: 11).  Here 
is  a  reference  to  that  assurance  which  is  the  full 
conviction  that  every  promise  and  revelation  con- 
cerning the  future  will  be  surely  fulfilled.  This, 
like  all  assurance,  is  simply  the  result  of  believ- 
ing God. 


CHAPTER  IX 

REWARDS,   OR  THE  PLACE  OF  CHRIS- 
TIAN WORKS 

TRUE  Christian  Ijvjn^and  service  flow  out  of  the 
new  creation  which  is  the  result  of  the  saving 
workof  God  and  are  divinely  recognized  by  the 
promise  of  .lejsards..  The  Bible  revelation  con- 
cerning rewards  not  only  presents  a  great  in- 
centive to  holy  and  faithful  living,  but  is  a 
necessary  counterpart  of  the  doctrines  of  free 
grace.  The  divine  plan  of  salvation  under  free 
grace  is  to  save  men  "without  money  and  with- 
out price."  This  means  that  no  exchange  is  made. 
Man  receives  all  that  he  has  as  a  gift  and  only 
as  a  gift.  It  also  means  that  there  are  no  after 
payments  to  lie  made1,  "on  tlm  installment  plan," 
as  though  some  attempted  correctness  of  life  and 
conduct  could  qualify  the  transaction  of  grace. 
What  is  done  for  man  is  done  graciously.  God 
will  not  suffer  His  gift  to  be  confused  with  use- 
less attempts  to  pay,  or  return,  anything  to  Him 
in  exchange.  It  is  equally  evident  that  it  is  not 
His  purpose  that  Christian  service  shall  be  ren- 
dered as  an  attempt  to  return  something  for  what 
He  has  done,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  such 
motives  in  service  are  sometimes  urged  by  the 
misinformed. 

God  is  said  to  be  actuated  by  at  least  three  mo- 
tives in  saving  men :  First,  they  are  said  to  be 
"created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works,  which 

86 


Rewards,  or  Place  of  Christian  Works  87 

God  hath  before  ordained  that  they  should  walk 
in  them."  This,  it  is  evident,  is  the  least  of  all. 
It  is,  however,  the  only  motive  that  is  sometimes 
presented.  "We  are  saved  to  serve"  is  a  com- 
mon phrase  which  if  taken  alone  would  represent 
the  Father  as  seeking  our  service  only  and  as  de- 
based to  the  level  of  the  most  sordid  commercial- 
ist.  It  is  true  rather  that  we  are  saved  in  order 
that  we  may  serve.  There  can  be  no  true  service 
apart  from  salvation.  Service  then  becomes  a  di- 
vinely provided  privilege.  Second,  we  are  saved 
that  "we  might  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting 
life."  This  would  seem  of  greatest  importance, 
for  it  represents  our  unmeasured  and  eternal  bless- 
ing in  Him.  But  there  is  a  third  divine  motive 
infinitely  beyond  these  which,  we  may  believe,  is 
the  highest  motive  of  saving  grace:  namely,  we 
are  saved  "that  in  the  ages  to  come  he  might  shew 
the  exceeding  riches  of  his  grace  in  his  kindness 
toward  us  through  Christ  Jesus."  The  result  of 
that  kindness  toward  us  will  be  seen  to  be  the  final 
form  in  which  we  appear  in  the  glory  when  we 
are  "conformed  to  the  image  of  his  Son."  Every 
being  in  the  universe  will  know  what  we  were 
and  will  behold  the  spectacle  of  what  we  are  in 
that  final  and  eternal  glory.  This  transforma- 
tion will  have  measured  the  grace  of  God  for  us, 
and  on  that  scale  which  will  be  wholly  satisfying 
to  Himself.  He  will  have  made  a  demonstra- 
tion of  His  grace  before  all  created  beings  which 
will  be  to  His  own  exceeding  joy. 

It  may  be  concluded,  then,  that  God  is  moved 
to  act  in  our  behalf  from  the  sole  motive  of  love 


88  Salvation 

toward  us  and  not  for  gains  of  any  kind  whatso- 
ever. It  is  all  to  unfold  His  grace  alone.  Thus 
the  new-born  child  in  the  Father's  house  begins 
his  career  with  no  hopeless  debt.  He  has  simply 
to  enter  into  that  which  is  his  by  all  right  and 
title  in  the  amazing  grace  of  God.  When  the 
Christian  enters  into  service  the  greatest  care  must 
be  exercised  that  the  very  motives  for  service  do 
not  in  some  way  violate  these  most  precious  rela- 
tions of  divine  favor.  It  will  not  do  to  attempt 
to  repay  Him  by  service  for  what  He  has  done. 
A  gift  is  not  appreciated  as  such  by  the  recipient 
when  there  is  the  slightest  intention  even  to  pay 
lor  il.f  1'UC  LLe  stupid  Iranian  heart  is  so  often 
proposing  to  repay  God  for  His  mercy.  Such 
words  are  put  into  the  lips  of  Christ  in  the  hymn, 
"I  gave  my  life  for  thee,  what  hast  thou  given 
for  me?"  The  question  "what  hast  thou  given 
for  me  ?"  may  well  be  asked  of  us  all ;  but  never 
as  though  it  was  a  "dun"  for  a  long  unpaid  debt 
to  Him. 

The  only  true  motive  for  Christian  life  and 
service  is  the  very  one  motive  which  has  actuated 
God  in  His  service  for  us.  It  is  just  LOVE.  Sal- 
vation was  to  reveal  and  Satisfy  His  love  for  us. 
"God  commendeth  his  love  toward  us,  in  that, 
while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us" 
(Rom.  5:8).  "Hereby  perceive  we  the  love  of 
God,  because  he  laid  down  his  life  for  us"  (1  Jno. 
3:16).  It  then  follows  that  "we  ought  to  lay 
down  our  lives  for  the  brethren";  but  never  to 
pay  Him  for  laying  down  His  life  for  us.  It  is 
rather  that  we  act  on  the  same  principle  of  love. 


Rewards,  or  Place  of  Christian  Works  89 

We  can  make  no  claim  on  Him  whatsoever.  At 
best,  from  our  own  standpoint,  we  are  "unprofit- 
able servants."  He  will  reward  every  faithful 
service ;  but  He  will  not  demand  the  service.  His 
recognition  of  Christian  service  will  be  but  an- 
other manifestation  of  His  marvelous  grace.  No 
child  of  God  is  "earning  his  way."  Such  a  thought 
might  satisfy  a  sordid  commercial  instinct  of  an 
untaught  heart,  but  the  thought  is  foreign  to  a 
normal  relation  of  the  child  to  his  Father.  "He 
hath  given  us  all  things  richly  to  enjoy."  The 
Father's  supply  of  our  temporal  needs  may  come 
through  the  very  channel  in  which  our  service  is 
rendered,  but  it  must  not  be  deemed  a  payment 
for  that  service  or  all  truth  is  subverted.  His 
care  for  us  is  in  pure  love  which  can  be  claimed 
by  the  most  helpless  invalid  as  much  as  by  the 
most  active  person.  He  does  not  promise  to  care 
for  us  if  we  "deliver  the  tale  of  bricks."  Such 
doctrine  belongs  to  the  Egyptian  taskmasters  of 
old.  God  is  just  as  much  committed  to  care  for 
us,  by  His  loving  promises,  after  our  vitality  is 
exhausted  as  when  we  are  in  the  prime  of  life 
and  strength.  "They  that  serve  in  the  gospel 
shall  live  by  the  gospel"  is  a  divine  exhortation 
to  those  who  have  the  privilege  of  love  gifts  to 
the  gospel  ministry.  It  is  not  addressed  to  the 
minister.  "Give  and  it  shall  be  given  to  you"  is 
an  assurance  that  you  cannot  approach  the  Father 
with  an  expression  of  your  love  to  Him  that  He 
will  not  meet  you  with  a  vastly  greater  response 
of  His  overflowing  grace.  "Seek  ye  first  the  king- 
dom of  God,  and  his  righteousness;  and  all  these 


90  Salvation 

things  shall  be  added  unto  you"  is  not  an  in- 
junction to  seek  an  increase  in  salary,  even  as 
a  secondary  consideration.  It  is  forgetting  all 
else  but  Him,  and  the  divine  response  is  to  the 
end  that  "All  these  (temporal)  things  shall  be 
added  unto  you." 

Every  service  for  God,  then,  should  be,  like 
His,  a  service  expressing  love,  and  all  occupation 
in  life  should  be  deemed  by  the  Christian  as  a 
service  for  God  (1  Cor.  10:  31;  Eph.  6:6-8;  Col. 
3:22-24).  God  does  not  need  our  paltry  gifts: 
He  wants  us.  He  is  not  looking  for  free  labor 
from  us:  He  is  looking  for  evidence  of  our  love 
for  Him.  Service  for  a  salary  is  a  poor  return: 
service  for  His  own  sake  is  most  precious  in  His 
eyes.  There  is  no  commercialism  in  the  household 
of  God,  for  there  the  standard  of  value  is  only 
love.  "He  brought  me  to  the  banqueting  house, 
and  his  banner  over  me  was  love."  "She  hath 
loved  much"  was  a  priceless  verdict  of  Christ. 
For  such  service  of  love  there  will  be  a  divine  rec- 
ognition in  the  coming  glory.  This  will  be  shown 
by  the  bestowal  of  rewards. 

It  should  also  be  stated  that  Christian  service 
is  not  any  good  act  we  may  choose  to  perform. 
The  child  of  God  has  been  "created  in  Christ 
Jesus  unto  good  works,  which  God  hath  before 
ordained  that  we  should  walk  in  them."  This 
means  that  there  is  a  design  and  field  of  service 
divinely  planned  for  each  one,  and  "good  works" 
in  the  Bible  sense  can  only  be  the  finding  and 
doing  of  that  which  He  has  ordained.  The  works 
are  "good"  in  that  they  are  "that  good,  and  ac- 


Rewards,  or  Place  of  Christian  Works  91 

ceptable,  and  perfect,  will  of  God"  for  each 
believer.  These  can  only  be  entered  into  by  His 
divine  direction,  which  will  be  realized  by  all  who 
wholly  yield  to  Him.  Service  must  be  "where 
he  will." 

God  has  promised  by  many  Scriptures  to  rec- 
ognize all  service  that  is  rendered  as  a  love- 
expression  to  Him  and  all  that  is  within  the  gra- 
cious plan  of  life  He  has  made  for  every  child 
of  His.  There  will  be  rewards,  crowns  and  prizes. 
No  one  can  define  them.  They  most  evidently 
speak  of  His  loving  appreciation  of  our  little 
suffering  and  faithfulness  for  Him.  They  will 
be  inexpressibly  sweet,  and  they  will  abide  for 
all  eternity.  Salvation  is  not  a  reward  for  the 
believer's  service.  Salvation  is  God's  work  for 
us.  Rewards  are  always  connected  with  the  be- 
liever's works  and  merit.  The  rewards  are  to  be 
bestowed  at  "the  judgment-seat  of  Christ"  (2  Cor. 
5:  10).  This  is  when  the  saints  are  gathered  to 
meet  their  Lord  in  the  air  (1  Cor.  4:  5;  2  Tim. 
4:8;  Rev.  22:12;  Mt.  16:27;  Lk.  14:14).  It 
will  be  a  moment  of  discovery  as  to  who  hath 
loved  much  and  who  was  much  occupied  with 
Him.  It  is  most  comforting  to  read  of  that  very 
time  of  judgment,  "and  then  shall  every  man 
have  praise  of  God"  (1  Cor.  4:5). 

Of  the  many  passages  in  the  Bible  on  rewards, 
two  may  be  considered  here.  The  first,  1  Cor. 
9 : 18-27,  is  the  divinely  recorded  illustration  of 
true  service  as  seen  in  the  life  of  the  Apostle  Paul. 
This  passage  opens  with  the  question:  "What  is 
my  reward  then  ?"  This  is  followed  by  a  descrip- 


92  Salvation 

tion  of  the  tireless  service  and  faithfulness  of  the 
Apostle.  At  the  twenty-fifth  verse  he  presents 
an  illustration  based  on  the  Grecian  games. 
"Know  ye  not  that  they  which  run  in  a  race  run 
all,  but  one  receiveth  the  prize?  So  run,  that 
ye  may  obtain."  The  most  violent  effort  of  the 
runner  in  the  race  is,  in  the  illustration,  the  stand- 
ard of  effort  for  the  servant  of  God.  "And  every 
man  that  striveth  for  the  mastery  is  temperate  in 
all  things."  There  is  the  greatest  care  of  thejx)dy_ 
hat  it  may  be  found  at  its  highest  state  of  effi- 
ency  in  agility,  strength  and  endurance.  "N~ow 
they  (the  athletes)  do  it  (sacrifice  their  desires 
and  every  indulgence  and  carefully  train)  to  ob- 
tain a  corruptible  crown."  What  was  more  transi- 
tory than  the  wreath  of  leaves  that  was  placed  on 
the  victor's  brow  ?  "But  we  (sacrifice  our  desires 
and  indulgences  and  train  ourselves  for)  an  in- 
corruptible crown."  If  only  such  were  true !  Few 
have  so  lived  before  God  as  did  the  Apostle  Paul. 
How  shame  must  cover  us  when  we  think  of  the 
ceaseless  effort  of  the  worldly  athlete  to  gain  a 
fading  crown  that  soon  will  be  forever  forgotten, 
while  God  is  offering  to  us  an  incorruptible  crown 
the  effulgence  of  which  will  be  increasing  in 
brightness  when  all  the  contests  of  earth  are  for- 
gotten in  the  ages  of  the  ages !  This  passage  closes 
with  a  personal  testimony  from  the  Apostle.  "I 
therefore  so  run,  not  as  uncertainly;  so  fight 
I,  not  as  one  that  beateth  the  air:  but  I 
keep  under  my  body,  and  bring  it  into  sub- 
jection: lest  that  by  any  means  when  I  have 
preached  to  others,  I  myself  should  be  a  casta- 


Rewards,  or  Place  of  Christian  Works  93 

way"  (disapproved).  There  is  no  reference 
to  salvation  in  this  passage.  It  begins  with 
the  words:  "What  is  my  reward  then?"  and 
is  of  rewards  throughout.  The  fear  that  is 
expressed  at  the  end  is  of  being  disapproved  of 
the  Lord.  It  is  not  fear  of  being  found  unsaved. 
This  would  be  opposed  to  the  unvarying  and  al- 
ways consistent  teaching  of  the  Apostle  concern- 
ing the  grounds  of  salvation.  He  testifies  that 
there  is  a  half-hearted  preaching  which  would 
disappoint  His  Lord.  He  is  striving  that  he  may 
be  approved  as  a  faithful  servant  in  that  ministry 
to  which  he  was  called. 

The  second  Scripture  to  be  mentioned  on  re- 
wards is  1  Cor.  3 :  9-15.  This  presents  the  fact 
of  rewards  as  certainly  promised  by  God.  "For 
we  are  labourers  together  with  God:  ye  are  God's 
husbandry,  ye  are  God's  building.  According  to 
the  grace  of  God  which  is  given  unto  me,  as  a  wise 
master  builder,  I  have  laid  the  foundation,  and 
another  buildeth  thereon.  But  let  every  man  take 
heed  how  he  buildeth  thereupon.  For  other  foun- 
dation can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is 
Jesus  Christ."  This  is  not  the  building  of  char- 
jicterj  which  undertaking  is  unknown  in  the  Scrip- 
tures. It  is  rather  the  building  of  service  unto 
a  reward.  Christ  is  the  foundation  and  to  be  on 
Him  is  to  be  saved.  It  is  possible  to  build  on 
Him  of  very  different  spiritual  substances,  but 
all  built  on  the  same  foundation,  Christ.  Such 
are  the  possibilities  in  service  for  all  who  are  saved 
in  Christ.  "Wow  if  any  man  build  upon  this 
foundation  gold,  silver,  precious  stones,  wood,  hay, 


94  Salvation 

stubble;  every  man's  work  (not  his  salvation) 
shall  be  made  manifest :  for  the  day  shall  declare 
it,  because  it  shall  be  revealed  by  fire;  and  the 
fire  shall  try  every  man's  work  of  what  sort  it  is. 
If  any  man's  work  abide  which  he  hath  built  there 
upon  (Christ),  he  shall  receive  a  reward.  If  any 
man's  work  (built  on  Christ  the  Foundation) 
shall  be  burned,  he  shall  suffer  loss:  but  he  him- 
self shall  be  saved;  yet  so  as  by  fire." 

Fire  is  the  symbol  of  the  judgment  by  which 
the  super-structure  of  Christian  works  is  to  be 
tested.  Jesus  made  use  of  another  symbol  of 
judgment,  the  floods  of  water,  that  shall  test  the 
foundation.  Woe  to  those  who  are  found  build- 
ing on  the  sand!  Not  only  will  their  super- 
structure of  self-righteousness  collapse,  but  their 
foundation,  the  fallen  nature,  will  be  swept  by 
the  waters  of  judgment  into  everlasting  darkness. 
Although  secure  against  the  floods,  established  on 
the  Rock  Christ  Jesus,  great  sorrow  and  shame 
will  come  upon  those  saved  ones  who  have  had 
all  the  days  of  grace  and  the  enabling  power  of 
God  and  a  field  so  white  for  harvest  and  in  the 
end  present  a  completed  service  of  "wood,  hay, 
stubble"  only. 

Thus  it  may  be  concluded  that  we  are  saved 
in  the  boundless  grace  of  God  and  His  attitude 
toward  us  is  ever  and  always  one  of  love.  We 
are  the  objects  of  His  bounty  and  care.  Being 
saved,  we  are  privileged  to  enter  some  service 
of  His  eternal  design.  This  is  not  a  field  in  which 
to  compensate  Him  for  His  love.  It  is  our  di- 
vinely given  opportunity  to  express  our  love  to 


Rewards,  or  Place  of  Christian  Works  95 

Him  to  the  praise  of  the  Glory  of  His  grace.  He 
recognizes  such  ministries  of  love  by  that  which 
He  has  been  pleased  to  call  "rewards."  What 
more  could  He  do  than  He  has  done  ?  How  more 
faithfully  could  He  appeal  for  our  heart's  devo- 
tion to  Him? 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  ETERNAL  SECURITY  OF  THE 
BELIEVER 

The  So-called  "Doubtful  Passages" 
Parti 

THE  question  here  raised  and  which  has  been  so 
long  under  theological  controversy  is  simply  stated 
in  the  words,  "Can  a  person  once  saved  be  lost 
again?"  To  this  question  two  widely  differing 
answers  have  been  given,  which  are  as  simply 
stated  in  the  two  words,  Yes  and  No.  There 
is  no  middle  position,  or  ground  for  compromise, 
for  both  answers  cannot  be  true  at  the  same  time. 
One  cannot  really  be  secure  if  he  is  insecure  as 
to  his  eternal  keeping  by  the  slightest  degree. 

The  subject  of  security  is  somewhat  different 
from  the  question  of  assurance  already  considered. 
Eternal  security  is  a  doctrine  of  Scripture,  a  di- 
vine revelation  of  an  abiding  fact  which  exists, 
whether  it  is  believed  or  not.  Assurance  is  only 
the  personal  confidence  in  a  present  salvation. 

The  two  schools  of  belief  regarding  eternal  se- 
curity have  existed  for  several  centuries  and  cer- 
tain church  creeds  have  taken  positive  sides  on 
the  question.  The  belief,  or  disbelief,  in  secur- 
ity is,  however,  more  of  a  personal  matter  than 
credal ;  depending  much  on  the  extent  of  personal 
Bible  study  and  heart  response  to  the  whole  rev- 
elation of  God.  Because  one .  is  enrolled  under 
a  "Calvinistic"  creed  does  not  guarantee  that  he 
will  himself  be  free  from  the  distractions  of  mere 

96 


The  Eternal  Security  of  the  Believer     97 

human  reason:  on  the  other  hand,  because  one  is 
enrolled  under  an  "Arminian"  creed  is  no  guar- 
anty that  he  will  not  eventually  learn  to  rest  in 
every  revelation  and  promise  of  God. 

The  question  resolves  itself  to  one  issue:  did 
Christ  do  enough  on  the  cross  to  make  it  possible 
for  God  righteously  tojceeja  one  saved,  as  well  as 
righteously  tojsave  at  alls  Since  this  question 
strikes  at  the  very  heart  of  the  revelation  regard- 
ing the  cross,  its  importance  cannot  be  overesti- 
mated. The  solution  of  the  question  involves  the 
very  foundation  of  personal  rest  and  peace,  and 
must  qualify  Christian  service  as  well.  No  one 
can  rest  while  in  terror  of  eternal  damnation,  nor 
can  one  be  normal  in  service  if  he  is  confronted 
with  the  superhuman  task  of  self-keeping  in  the 
realm  of  the  new  creation. 

A  careful  survey  of  the  whole  field  of  discus- 
sion regarding  the  security  of  those  who  are  saved 
will  reveal  that  one  group  return  constantly  in 
their  discussions  of  this  subject  to  the  conclusions 
of  human  reason^  to  the  uncertain  evidence  of 
human  experience,  and  such  Scripture  as  is  cited 
by  them,  they  "wrest  to  their  own  destruction." 
The  other  group  are  guided  by  revelation  alone, 
believing  that  there  is  nothing  about  any  phase 
of  salvation  that  can  be  explained  within  the  cir- 
cumscribed limits  of  unaided  reason  or  knowl- 
edge. Salvation  began  with  God  in  another 
sphere,  and  its  conditions,  character  and  results 
are  altogether  in  harmony  with  the  eternal  being 
of  God,  rather  than  with  the  vain  imaginations 
of  fallen  man.  Not  one  step  can  be  taken  toward 


98  Salvation 

salvation  until  the  individual  is  prepared  to  pro- 
ject his  confidence  beyond  the  sphere  of  human 
understanding,  and  believe  something  of  the  un- 
seen and  otherwise  unknowable  as  it  is  disclosed 
in  the  Word  of  God.  This  discussion  is  under- 
taken with  the  hope  that  it  may  enable  some  who 
have  hesitated  to  go  all  the  way  in  faith  to  be 
more  able  to  do  so  to  the  glory  of  our  covenant- 
keeping  God.  It  need  hardly  be  added  that  this 
discussion  has  only  to  do  with  the  security  of 
those  who  are  saved  in  the  true  and  Biblical  sense. 
There  is  no  divine  promise  of  keeping  for  the 
mere  professor  who  does  not  truly  believe. 

There  are  a  few  passages  which  have  been 
thought  by  some  to  teach  that  salvation  is  inse- 
cure. These  are  to  be  taken  up  first.  Following 
the  consideration  of  these  the  more  positive  teach- 
ings of  the  Scriptures  will  be  presented. 

In  taking  up  these  so-called  "insecurity  pas- 
sages," which  number  about  twenty-five,  it  will  be 
found  that  they  have  been  given  the  character  of 
doubt  as  to  the  keeping  power  of  God  only 
through  misinterpretation.  Thus  they  are  made 
to  contradict  the  much  larger  body  of  Scripture 
in  which  an  absolute  security  is  promised.  The 
misinterpretation  will  usually  be  easily  discovered 
by  a  careful  examination  of  the  whole  context. 
Some  of  the  passages  to  be  taken  up,  it  may  be 
stated,  have  always  been  considered  difficult,  this 
being  evidenced  by  the  various  renderings  and 
expositions.  It  should  not  be  concluded,  how- 
ever, that  teaching  of  insecurity  is  warranted 
from  the  difficulties  in  these  passages.  The  vari- 


The  Eternal  Security  of  the  Believer    99 

ous  renderings  and  expositions  made  by  creditable 
expositors  do  not  present  teachings  foreign  to  the 
whole  counsel  of  God.  God  forbid  that  any  effort 
should  be  made  to  "Jiannpnize  the  Word  ofjGrod." 
It  is  a  consistent  whole  in  its  testimony,  and  only 
awaits  our  right  understanding  of  all  that  it 
teaches.  It  will  not  do,  therefore,  to  discredit  the 
clear  testimony  of  a  "verily"  of  the  Scriptures 
with  an^if." 

The  passages  in  question  may  best  be  treated 
under  classified  groupings,  and  for  want  of  space 
consideration  of  every  passage  will  not  be  under- 
taken. What  is  true  of  one  passage  within  a 
group  will  be  found  in  the  main  to  be  true  of 
the  others. 

7.    Passages  Dispensationally  Misapplied. 

Mt.  24: 13  (see  also  Mk.  13: 13;  Mt.  10:  22)  : 
\  "But  he  that  shall  endure  unto  the  end,  the  same 
shall  bo  saved."  This  passage  occurs  in  the  midst 
VJ  of  the  "Olivet  discourse,"  which  was  addressed  to 
Israel  only.  They  alone  are  "hated  of  all  na- 
tions" (vs.  9).  The  context  is  a  description  of 
"sorrow"  and  "the  great  tribulation"  (vs.  8 
and  21),  which  period  cannot  even  begin  on  the 
earth  until  the  Church  has  been.rfimox£d  (1  Thess. 
5:9;  4:13-18).  It  cannot,  and  does  not,  apply 
to  any  saint  of  this  dispensation.  There  is  a 
sweet  promise  here  for  those  in  that  terrible  time 
who  endure  to  its  end. 

Ezk.  33:7,  8  was  true  under  the  law ;  but  is 
not  true  under  grace. 

Mt.  18:  23-35  (cf.  Mt.  25:  30;  20:  1-16)  is  of 
"servants"  in  God's  vineyard,  Israel.  This  is  to 
7 


100  Salvation 

be  distinguished  from  the  present  preaching  of 
the  gospel  in  the  "field"  which  is  the  world.  For- 
giveness under  the  law  was  as  ye  forgive  (Mt. 

Q"  6:14,  15).  Forgiveness  under  grace  is,  like  all 
gifts  of  grace,  first,  divinely  bestowed,  and  then 
becomes  an  incentive  in  the  believer's  heart  to 

.*     exercise  the  same  toward  others    (Eph.   4j  32). 

/      It  must  be  noted  that  "servants"  are  not  neces- 
sarily saved. 
.  II.   The  False  Teachers  of  "the  Last  Days" 

1  Tim.  4:1,  2 :  "Now  the  Spirit  speaketh  ex- 
pressly, that  in  the  latter  times  some  shall  depart 
from  the  faith,  giving  heed  to  seducing  spirits, 
and  doctrines  of  devils;  speaking  lies  in  hypoc- 
risy; having  their  conscience  seared  with  a  hot 
iron."  There  is  no  reference  here  to  personal 
faith.  Those  mentioned  are  said  to  depart  from 
the  faith.  This  is  "the  faith  which  was  once 

delivered     to     the     saints"     (Jude 3).       Very 

much  of  2  Thess.,  2  Tim.,  2  Pet.,  2  Jno., 
3  Jno.  and  Jude  concerns  the  "last  days" 
just  before  the  Church  is  removed  from  the 
earth.  None  of  the  New  Testament  Epistles 
are  concerned  with  the  Great  Tribulation  which 
follows  the  taking  away  of  the  Church;  for 
the  Tribulation  has  to  do  with  Israel  and  the 
Nations.  The  Church  is  warned  by  an  over- 
whelming body  of  Scripture  against  a  coming 
apostacy  and  that  false  teaching  which  is  to  char- 
acterize her  "last  days"  upon  the  earth.  The 
false  teacher  who  has  turned  from  the  Truth  is 
never  said  to  be  saved ;  but  God's  judgment  of  him 
is  sure.  The  above-named  Epistles  should  all  be 


II 


The  Eternal  Security  of  the  Believer  101 

studied  with  this  in  mind,  especially  2  Tim. 
3:1-5;  4:3,  4;  2  Pet.  2:1-22;  3:3,  4;  2  Jno. 
9-11,  and  Jude  4-19.  Jude  writes  of  these  false 
teachers  as  "they  who  separate  themselves,  sensual, 
having  not  the  Spirit." 

III.  Moral  Reformation. 

Lk.  11:24-26:  "When  the  unclean  spirit  is 
gone  out  of  a  man,  he  walketh  through  dry  places, 
seeking  rest;  and  finding  none,  he  saith,  I  will 
return  unto  my  house  whence  I  came  out.  And 
when  he  cometh,  he  findeth  it  swept  and  garnished. 
Then  goeth  he,  and  taketh  to  him  seven  other 
spirits  more  wicked  than  himself;  and  they  enter 
in,  and  dwell  there:  and  the  last  state  of  that 
man  is  worse  than  the  first."  The  Lord's  object 
in  thus  presenting  this  truth  was  evidently  to  set 
forth  the  futility  of  meremoral  ref prmatipjL  Such 
a  situation  could  never  describe  a  Christian  who 
from  the  moment  he  is  saved  is  indwelt  by  the 
Spirit  and  by  Christ. 

IV.  Christian  Profession  is  Proven   by   Its 
Fruits. 

1  Jno.  3  :  10 :  "In  this  the  children  of  God  are 
manifested,  and  the  children  of  the  devil:  who- 
soever doeth  not  righteousness  is  not  of  God  (note 
the  fundamental  divine  requirement  as  stated  in 
Jno.  6:28,  29),  neither  he  that  loveth  not  his 
brother."  There  is  an  important  distinction  to 
be  made  between  enduring  in  order  to  be  saved 
and  enduring  because  one  is  saved.  The  Bible  con- 
sistently presents  the  latter  test.  "If  ye  continue 
in  my  words,  then  are  ye  my  disciples  indeed" 
(Jno.  8:  31).  Of  all  the  seed  sown  in  the  field 


102  Salvation 

but  a  small  fraction  became  "wheat,"  the  chil- 
dren of  the  kingdom.  The  rest  sprang  up,  and  was 
withered,  or  was  caught  away,  or  was  choked. 
The  present  age  is  characterized  by  much  merely 
formal  profession.  Within  the  mass  of  profes- 
sors is  the  true  "wheat."  The  divine  test  is  al- 
ways with  regard  to  the  essential  character  of  the 
true  child  of  God.  As  compared  with  the  im- 
.potent,  unregenerate^ature,  the  divine  nature  does 
not  sin,  but  tends  to  new  aspirations  and  char- 
acteristics in  daily  life.  It  is  so,  and  it  must 
be  so.  The  child  of  God  still  has  the  flesh,  and 
this  is  said  to  "lust  against  the  Spirit."  The 
new  nature  does  "not "commit  sin:  the  old  nature 
can  do  nothing  else.  Proof  that  one  is  saved  is 
not  found  in  sinless  perfection;  but  is  found  in 
the  fact  that  there  are  new  desires  and  powers  in 
the  new  creation.  These  can  prevail  over  the  old 
desires  by  the  power  of  the  Spirit.  The  Bible 
simply  demands  that  there  shall  be  some  real  evi- 
dence of  the  new  life  from  God. 

2  Pet.  1 :  10 :  "Wherefore  the  rather,  brethren, 
give  diligence  to  make  your  calling  and  election 
sure:  for  if  ye  do  these  things  (mentioned  in  vs. 
6-8)  ye  shall  never  fall"  (stumble).  Election  is 
certainly  of  God  (Rom.  8 :  29).  Peter,  here,  calls 
on  the  saints  to  make  full  proof,  or  to  give  real 
evidence  of  their  election  by  the  presence  of  cer- 
tain virtues  in  their  lives  which  he  has  just  men- 
tioned in  the  preceding  verses.  So,  also,  Rom. 
8 : 16-18  states  that  true  children  of  God  will  suf- 
fer with  Christ,  rather  than  that  they  become 
children,  or  remain  children  by  suffering.  Rom. 


The  Eternal  Security  of  the  Believer  103 

8:13:  "For  if  ye  live  after  the  flesh,  ye  shall 
die"  (ye  are  on  the  way  to  die)  is  qualified  by 
verse  nine:  "But  ye  are  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in 
the  Spirit,  if  so  be  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwell 
in  you.  Now  if  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of 
Christ,  he  is  none  of  his."  It  is  this  chapter  of 
this  great  Epistle  of  salvation,  it  should  be  remem- 
bered, which  presents  the  most  unqualified  revela- 
tions of  security  for  the  one  who  believes. 

Jno.  15 :  6 :  "If  a  man  abide  not  in  me,  he  is 
cast  forth  as  a  branch,  and  is  withered;  and  men 
gather  them,  and  cast  them  into  the  fire,  and  they 
are  burned."  This  difficult  passage  may  best  be 
understood  in  its  probable  relation  to  professors. 
The  reference  is  to  "a  man"  and  not  to  a  branch, 
as  in  verse  two.  In  such  a  case  "abide  not  in  me" 
could  hardly  mean  more  than  a  pretense,  or  false 
profession  which  "men"  disallow  as  they  would 
gather  and  burn  dead  branches.  This,  like  James 
2:  14-26,  is  a  matter  of  justification  before  men 
by  works  which  testify  to  the  fact  of  the  presence 
or  absence  of  the  new  life.  Men  are  judged  only 
by  the  outward :  "God  looketh  on  the  heart,"  and 
"He  knoweth  them  that  are  his."  The  whole 
Epistle  of  1  Jno.  is  filled  with  these  practical 
tests  of  the  Christian's  life  and  conduct.  To  this 
may  be  added  1  Cor.  15:1,  2  and  Heb.  3 :  6,  14. 

V.    Various  Warnings. 

1.  Christians  are  warned:  Rom.  14:15,  "De- 
stroy not  him  with  thy  meat,  for  whom  Christ 
died."  The  effect  of  this  sin  is  defined  in  1 
Cor.  8 :  11,  12 :  "But  when  ye  sin  so  against 
the  brethren,  and  wound  their  weak  conscience, 


104  Salvation 

ye  sin  against  Christ."  The  effect  of  such  sin 
is,  therefore,  the  wounding  of  the  weak  con- 
science. The  sin  is  most  serious;  but  a  true  child 
of  God  will  "never  perish,"  and  "will  never  die" 
(Jno.  10:28;  11:26). 

2.  Professors  are  warned:    Mt.  25:1-13  is  of 
the  ten  virgins.     Five  had  no  oil,  the  symbol  of 
divine  life,  though  they  had  every  outward  ap- 
pearance.   They  heard  the  judgment  "I  know  you 
not,"  which  could  not  be  said  of  the  least  child 
of  God. 

3.  Jews  are  warned:    Heb.  10:26,  "If  we  sin 
wilfully  after  we  have  received  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth,  there  remaineth  no  more  a  sacrifice  for 
sins."     The  old  Jewish  sacrifices  had  passed  and 
there  was  no  longer  that  cure  for  sins.     It  was 
either  to  take  Christ,  who  had  died  the  sacrificial 
death  for  all,  or  to  come  into  terrible  judgment. 

Heb.  6 : 4-9,  "For  it  is  impossible  for  those 
who  were  once  enlightened,  and  have  tasted  of  the 
heavenly  gift,  and  were  made  partakers  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  have  tasted  of  the  good  word 
of  God,  and  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come,  if 
they  shall  fall  away,  to  renew  them  again  unto 
repentance;  seeing  they  crucify  to  themselves  the 
Son  of  God  afresh,  and  put  him  to  an  open 
shame."  "But,  beloved,  we  are  persuaded  better 
things  of  you,  and  things  that  accompany  salva- 
tion, though  we  thus  speak"  (vs.  9).  Much  is  said 
here  as  having  been  divinely  accomplished  in  cer- 
tain individuals,  but  it  is  not  a  sufficient  descrip- 
tion of  the  true  child  of  God;  who  is  light;  who 
is  already  a  citizen  of  heaven;  who  has  been 


The  Eternal  Security  of  the  Believer  105 

sealed  by  the  Holy  Spirit;  who  has  been  reger- 
erated  by  the  washing  of  the  Word;  and  who 
has  been  recreated  by  the  power  of  God.  The 
passage  is  addressed  to  Hebrews  and  the  first  part 
of  the  chapter  concerns  their  duty  of  passing  from 
the  elements  of  Jewish  faith  to  Christ,  and  the 
warning  is  of  their  particular  danger  of  substi- 
tuting half  truths  for  the  full  truth  in  Christ. 
That  the  passage  is  not  for  Christians  is  most 
evident  from  the  closing  verse  of  the  context  (vs. 
9),  which  is  preceded  by  the  illustration  found 
in  verses  seven  and  eight. 

4.  Gentiles   are  warned:    Rom.    11:21,    "For 
if  God  spared  not  the  natural  branches,  take  heed 
lest  he  also  spare  not  thee."     This  message  is  ad- 
dressed to  Gentiles  as  contrasted  to  Israel,  and  is 
a  distinction  between  God's  dealing  with  Israel 
in  one  dispensation  and  with  the  mass  of  Gen- 
tiles in  another  dispensation,  rather  than  a  warn- 
ing to  saved  individuals. 

5.  Two  general  warnings :    Rev.  22 :  19,  "And 
if  any  man  shall  take  away  from  the  words  of 
the  book  of  this  prophecy,  God  shall  take  away 
his  part  out  of  the  book  of  life,  and  out  of  the 
holy  city,  and  from  the  things  that  are  written 
in  this  book."   The  warning  is  most  general.   That 
no  child  of  God  would  be  permitted  to  do  this, 
or  to  come  under  this  judgment,  is  assured  in  1 
Cor.  10 : 13  and  Jno.  10 :  29. 

1  Cor.  3 :  17,  "If  any  man  defile  the  temple  of 
God,  him  shall  God  destroy  (corrupt)  ;  for  the 
temple  of  God  is  holy,  which  temple  ye  are."  An- 
other general  warning  of  judgments  which  could 


106  Salvation 

never  be  the  fate  of  the  child  of  the  Father  (Jno. 
17:11). 

VI.  Christians  May  Lose  Their  Rewards,  Walk 
in  the  Dark,  or  be  Chastened. 

1.  Rewards  may  be  forfeited,  or  lost,  but  this 
cannot  be  said  of  salvation.  1  Cor.  9 :  27 :  "But 
I  keep  under  my  body,  and  bring  it  into  subjec- 
tion :  lest  that  by  any  means,  when  I  have  preached 
to  others,  I  myself  should  be  a  castaway"  (dis- 
approved). The  context  is  only  of  rewards  and 
not  at  all  of  salvation.  The  word  here  translated 
"castaway"  is  .gdokimos,  which  is  the  negative 
form,  by  the  prefix  a,  of  dokimos.  The  negative 
form  is  translated  by  three  English  words  in  the 
New  Testament:  "castaway,"  once;  "rejected," 
once;  and  "reprobate,"  six  times.  Three  of  the 
translations  of  "reprobate"  are  given  a  marginal 
rendering  "void  of  judgment."  Four  meanings 
given  to  the  word  by  the  lexicons  are  "unable  to 
stand  test/'  "rejected,"  "refuse"  and  "worthless." 
The  less  severe  form  of  the  word  is  by  the  lexi- 
cons given  first,  which  corresponds  with  the  mean- 
ing given  to  it  in  the  numerous  translations  in 
the  Bible.  The  moderate  meaning  of  the  nega- 
tive form  of  this  word  is  demanded  in  the  pas- 
sage in  question  for  at  least  four  reasons.  (1) 
The  affirmative  form  of  the  word  dokimos,  used 
in  the  New  Testament  six  times,  is  always  trans- 
lated in  the  Bible  and  defined  by  the  lexicogra- 
phers, as  well,  as  meaning  "approved,"  or  "to  stand 
test."  "For  he  that  in  these  things  serveth  Christ 
is  acceptable  to  God,  and  approved  of  men"  (Rom. 
14:18);  "Salute  Apelles  approved  in  Christ" 


The  Eternal  Security  of  the  Believer  107 

(Rom.  16 :  10)  ;  "For  there  must  be  also  heresies 
among  you,  that  they  which  are  approved  may  be 
made  manifest  among  you"  (1  Cor.  11:19); 
"For  not  he  that  commendeth  himself  is  approved, 
but  whom  the  Lord  commendeth"  (2  Cor.  10 :  18)  ; 
"Study  to  show  thyself  approved  unto  God,  a 
workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly 
dividing  the  word  of  truth"  (2  Tim.  2:15); 
"Blessed  is  the  man  that  endureth  temptation: 
for  when  he  is  tried,  he  shall  receive  the  crown 
of  life  which  the  Lord  hath  promised  to  them 
that  love  him"  (Jas.  1:  12).  If  dokimos  is  al- 
ways "approved,"  or  "tested"  as  to  rewards,  it 
follows  that  its  negative  form  is  naturally  "dis- 
approved" or  "failure  under  testing."  (2)  To 
give  adokimos  the  severest  possible  meaning  of 
being  "cast  off  forever"  would  be  to  ignore  wholly 
the  meaning  in  the  context.  This  is  of  rewards 
to  the  believer  for  faithful  service.  The  passage 
opens  with  the  words  (vs.  18)  "What  then  is  my 
reward  ?"  And  Paul's  fear,  as  has  been  before 
stated,  is  lest  through  half-hearted  ministry  he 
should  be  disapproved.  Salvation  is  not  in  ques- 
tion, for  salvation  is  not  once  related  in  the  Scrip- 
tures to  dokimos,  the  affirmative  form  of  this 
word.  (3)  To  give  adoJcimos  the  severest  mean- 
ing in  this  passage  would  be  to  bring  it  into  direct 
opposition  to  all  the  great  promises  of  God  con- 
cerning His  purpose  and  power  in  salvation.  (4) 
It  is  to  choose  a  meaning  of  the  word  which  is 
remote  and  in  no  way  the  usual  use  made  of  it 
in  the  Scriptures.  Conybeare  and  Howson  ren- 
der the  passage :  "But  I  bruise  my  body  and  force 


108  Salvation 

it  into  bondage;  lest,  perchance,  having  called 
others  to  the  contest,  I  should  myself  fail  shame- 
fully of  the  prize"  (Life  of  St.  Paul,  Chapter  12). 

1  Cor.  3 : 15.  "If  any  (Christians)  man's  work 
shall  be  burned,  he  shall  suffer  loss :  but  he  him- 
self shall  be  saved ;  yet  so  as  by  fire."  The  whole 
context,  again,  is  of  rewards  for  Christian  serv- 
ice. The  work  of  God  must  stand.  The  child 
of  God  will  himself  be  saved,  though  all  his  works 
are  burned. 

Col.  1 :  21-23.  "And  you,  that  were  sometimes 
alienated  and  enemies  in  your  minds  by  wicked 
works,  yet  now  hath  he  reconciled  in  the  body  of 
his  flesh  through  death"  (this  is  the  work  of  God 
in  salvation),  "to  present  you  holy  and  un- 
blameable  and  unreprovable  in  his  sight"  (de- 
pends, not  on  His  salvation,  but)  ;  "if  ye  continue 
in  the  faith  grounded  and  settled,  and  be  not 
moved  away  from  the  hope  of  the  gospel,  which  ye 
have  heard." 

2.  Christian  fellowship  may  be  lost  through 
sin:  "If  we  say  that  we  have  fellowship  with 
him,  and  walk  in  darkness,  we  lie,  and  do  not 
the  truth"  (1  Jno.  1:6).  This  passage  has  to  do 
with  loss  of  fellowship  (not  salvation)  through 
sin.  The  cure  for  a  Christian's  sin  is  not  in  a 
second  regeneration  and  justification  by  faith,  but 
rather,  "If  we  confess  our  sins,  he  is  faithful 
and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse 
us  from  all  unrighteousness"  (vs.  9).  This  is  the 
believer's  way  back  into  blessed  joy  and  fellow- 
ship with  his  Lord,  and  should  never  be  confused 
with  the  establishment  of  the  eternal  grounds  of 


The  Eternal  Security  of  the  Believer  109 

salvation.  The  uiiVegenerate  are  not  saved  by  con- 
fessing, but  by  .JgelievmQ.  Thus  the  Prodigal 
Son,  representing  the  possible  return  of  the  Jew- 
ish publicans  and  sinners  under  the  Jewish  cove- 
nants and  relationships,  returned  to  his  father  on 
the  ground  of  confession,  and  not  by  a  birth,  or 
generation.  He  was  lost  and  was  found,  which 
has  not  the  same  significance  as  being  lost  and 
saved.  He  never  ceased  to  be  a  son,  and  was  re- 
stored to  the  former  relation  to  his  father  by 
confession :  "Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven 
and  in  thy  sight,  and  am  no  more  worthy  to  be 
called  thy  son."  The  same  underlying  truth  will 
be  found  in  the  other  parts  of  the  same  parable: 
"The  lost  sheep"  and  "The  lost  coin."  Thus  a 
saint  of  this  dispensation,  being  under  the  new 
covenant,  may  return  to  his  place  of  blessing  by 
confession  (1  Jno.  1:9).  David  did  not  pray 
that  his  salvation  might  be  restored  after  his  great 
sin;  but  he  did  pray:  "Restore  unto  me  the  joys 
of  my  salvation,"  and  that  after  his  full  confes- 
sion had  been  made. 

3.  Christians  may  be  chastened :  1  Cor.  11 :  29- 
32.  "For  he  that  eateth  and  drinketh  unworth- 
ily, eateth  and  drinketh  damnation  (judgment) 
unto  himself,  not  discerning  the  Lord's  body.  For 
this  cause  many  are  weak  and  sickly  among  you, 
and  many  sleep.  For  if  we  would  judge  ourselves, 
we  would  not  be  judged.  But  when  we  are 
judged,  we  are  chastened  of  the  Lord  that  we 
should  not  be  condemned  with  the  world."  This 
passage  has  to  do  with  a  possible  eating  and 
drinking  at  the  Lord's  table  in  an  unworthy  man- 


110  Salvation 

ner,  and  the  table  is  referred -'to  in  this  passage 
as  being  an  outward  evidence  of  the  believer's 
true  fellowship  with  his  Lord.  He  is  thus  warned 
against  going  to  that  table  when  there  is  uncon- 
fessed  sin  in  his  life,  by  that  act  assuming  to  be 
in  fellowship  with  his  Lord  when  he  is  not  The 
Father's  method  of  dealing  with  His  sinning  child 
is  then  revealed.  The  sinning  child  may  first 
judge  himself,  which  he  does  by  confessing  his 
sins.  If  he  judge  not  himself,  he  must  be  judged 
of  his  Father;  but  the  Father's  judgment  is  al- 
ways chastisement  and  never  condemnation  with 
the  world.  The  chastisement  for  the  unyielding 
child,  according  to  this  passage,  is  that  he  may 
become  "weak,"  "sick,"  or  "sleep"  (physical 
death) . 

Jno.  15:2.  "Every  branch  in  me  that  beareth 
not  fruit  he  taketh  away."  The  reference  is  evi- 
dently to  true  branches,  which  is  not  the  case 
in  verse  six.  From  the  fact  that  the  Greek  word 
airo  has  the  meaning  "lifting  up  out  of  its  place," 
here  translated  from  airei,  "taketh  away,"  it 
would  seem  probable  that  the  reference  is  to  the 
last  form  of  chastisement  mentioned  in  1  Cor. 
11 :  30.  Such  branches  are  taken  home  to  be  with 
the  Lord  (see,  also,  1  Tim.  5 : 12,  "Having  judg- 
ment" which  is  chastisement  for  a  child  of  God). 

VII.    Christians  May  Fall  From  Grace. 

Gal.  5 : 1-4.  "Stand  fast  therefore  in  the  lib- 
erty wherewith  Christ  hath  set  us  free,  and  be 
not  entangled  again  with  the  yoke  of  bondage. 
Behold,  I  Paul  say  unto  you,  that  if  ye  be  cir- 
cumcised, Christ  shall  profit  you  nothing.  For  I 


The  Eternal  Security  of  the  Believer  1 1 1 

testify  again  to  every  man  that  is  circumcised, 
that  he  is  a  debtor  to  do  the  whole  law.  Christ 
is  become  of  no  effect  unto  you,  whosoever  of 
you  are  justified  by  the  law;  ye  are  fallen  from 
grace."  "Falling  from  grace,"  it  will  be  seen 
from  this  passage,  is  not  caused  by  sinning.  It  is 
simply  departing  from  the  liberty  wherewith 
Christ  hath  set  us  free.  It  is  returning  to  the 
yoke  and  bondage  of  the  law  from  which  the  death 
oF  Christ  "hath  delivered  us.  Returning  to  the 
law,  the  liberty  which  is  ours  in  Christ  is  lost, 
and  Christ,  as  the  grounds  of  liberty,  is  of  no 
effect.  It  is  all  a  question  of  the  enjoyment  of 
that  priceless  liberty  in  grace.  There  is  not  the 
slightest  hint  in  the  passage  that  God  withdraws 
His  grace,  or  that  any  aspect  of  salvation  has  been 
canceled.  It  is  probable  that  many  believers  have 
never  had  a  vision  of  their  liberty  in  Christ ;  but 
this  passage  is  of  those  who  have  known  such 
liberty  and  then  have  been  drawn  back  into  the 
yoke  and  bondage  of  law  observance. 

Prom  the  foregoing  it  may  be  concluded  that 
there  is  no  Scripture,  when  rightly  divided  and 
related  to  the  whole  testimony  of  God,  that  teaches 
that  a  Christian  may  be  lost,  !N"or  is  there  any 
such  example  in  the  Bible.  Of  all  the  incidents 
and  parables,  none  can  be  made  to  teach  the  loss 
of  salvation.  Moreover,  if  it  were  possible  to 
lose  it,  there  is  no  promise,  or  hint,  in  the  Bible 
that  it  could  be  regained.  The  Bible  reveals  noth- 
ing concerning  repetition  of  regeneration. 

There  are  at  least  five  general  and  common  ques- 
tions of  doubt  that  are  often  raised  which  should 


112  Salvation 

also  be  considered  before  turning  to  the  positive 
revelation  regarding  eternal  security. 

1.  What  if  a  believer's  faith  should  fail? 
Faith,  it  may  be  answered,  is  not  meritorious. 

We  are  not  saved  because  we  possess  the  saving 
virtue  of  faith.  We  are  saved  through  faith,  and 
because  of  the  grace  of  God.  Incidentally  faith 
is  the  only  possible  response  of  the  heart  to  that 
grace.  Saving  faith  is  an  act:  not  an  attitude. 
Its  work  is  accomplished  when  its  object  has  been 
gained. 

2.  What  if  a  Christian  dies  with  unconfessed 
sin? 

It  is  quite  impossible  that  any  believer  knows, 
remembers,  or  has  confessed  every  sin.  Confes- 
sion, after  all,  is  but  telling  Him,  and  this  could 
better  be  done,  perhaps,  in  His  gracious  presence 
than  otherwise.  It  is  impossible  that  any  would 
see  His  face  if  whole  confession,  or  sinless  per- 
fection, should  be  made  the  condition  of  enter- 
ing that  blessed  Presence.  This  question  grows 
out  of  a  very  imperfect  understanding  of  the  fin- 
ished work  of  Christ.  Christ  has  died  that  sin 
might  not  keep  us  from  God. 

3.  Does  not  the  doctrine  of  security  license 
people  to  sin  ? 

Biblically,  No;  Experimentally,  "No.  There  is 
no  greater  incentive  to  holiness  of  life  than  to 
know  one's  own  eternal  position  in  Christ  Jesus. 
It  is,  according  to  the  Bible,  God's  superlative  ap- 
peal for  true  Christian  living.  To  the  question, 
"Shall  we  continue  in  sin  that  grace  may  abound  2" 
the  unregenerate  would  answer  "yes";  for  that 


The  Eternal  Security  of  the  Believer  113 

would  be  the  voice  of  the  fallen  nature:  but  the 
regenerate  will  answer,  "God  forbid."  To  claim 
that  teaching  the  doctrine  of  security  will  license 
people  to  sin  is  to  ignore  the  mighty  revelations 
of  the  believer's  positions  and  the  effect  of  these 
upon  the  life.  It  is  to  ignore  the  fact  of  the 
new  divine  nature  which  indwells  each  child  of 
God.  It  is  to  ignore  the  new  dispositions  and 
tendencies  flowing  out  of  that  new  life.  It  is  to 
ignore  the  imparted  energy  of  God,  "for  it  is  God 
which  worketh  in  you  both  to  will  and  to  do  of 
his  good  pleasure."  It  is  to  challenge  every  reve- 
lation concerning  God's  plan  of  dealing  with  His 
child. 

Experimentally  no  truly  born-again  persons 
have  been  known  to  live  on  a  lower  plane  after 
they  were  saved  than  the  plane  on  which  they 
lived  before  they  were  saved,  and  very  few  have 
been  known  to  take  advantage  of  grace.  Mere  con- 
version, or  reformation,  may  result  in  a  return 
to  a  worse  estate  (Lk.  11:  24-26).  On  the  other 
hand,  to  hold  over  people  the  superhuman  obliga- 
tion of  self -keeping  in  Christ,  is  but  to  discourage 
them  utterly  in  the  purpose  of  true  Christian 
living  and  incline  them  to  discount  the  very  stand- 
ards of  God.  Such  must  ever  be  called  from  a 
back-slidden  state.  The  Puritans  were  not  self- 
named.  The  name  was  given  them  because  of 
their  great  carefulness  of  life  and  piety.  Yet 
every  Puritan  believed  in  security,  and  they  may 
be  classed  with  a  multitude  of  the  most  devoted 
saints  who  have  lived  and  believed  according  to 
the  testimony  of  God. 


114  Salvation 

4.  Cannot  we  rebel  and  be  released  from  Christ 
if  we  so  choose? 

A  most  unscriptural  emphasis  upon  the  sup- 
posed power  of  the  human  will  has  been  made 
by  some.  The  human  will  never  acts  alone  (saved 
persons,  Phil.  2  :  13  ;  unsaved  persons,  Eph.  2:2), 
and  God  has  undertaken  to  keep  His  own  from  all 
such  sin.  "And  the  Lord  shall  deliver  me  from 
every  evil  work,  and  will  preserve  me  unto  his 
heavenly  kingdom"  (2  Tim.  4: 18)  ;  "There  hath 
no  temptation  taken  you  but  such  as  is  common 
to  man:  but  God  is  faithful,  who  will  not  suffer 
you  to  be  tempted  above  that  ye  are  able;  but 
will  with  the  temptation  also  make  a  way  to  es- 
cape, that  ye  may  be  able  to  bear  it"  (1  Cor. 
10:  13)  ;  "I  give  unto  them  eternal  life;  and  they 
shall  never  perish"  (Jno.  10:  28)  ;  "Who  are  kept 
by  the  power  of  God  through  faith  unto  salva- 
tion ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last  time"  (1  Pet. 
1:5).  Having  really  tasted  the  riches  of  His 
infinite  grace  and  then  prefering  to  be  lost  again 
would  be  the  clearest  evidence  of  insanity.  We 
may  be  assured  that  God  keeps  any  child  of  His 
who  is  so  unfortunate  as  to  lose  his  reason,  and 
if  such  an  one  were  to  ask  to  be  unsaved,  and  if 
it  were  possible,  that  one  would  be  kept  by  the 
power  of  God  through  the  dark  night  of  insan- 
ity. For  this  he  would  give  unceasing  thanks 
to  the  Father  through  the  ages  to  come. 

5.  Why  the  failure  of  so  many  converts? 

!N"o  one  can  really  judge  another;  but  it  is  evi- 
dent that  converts  who  fail  are  either  misguided 
professors  "who  went  out  from  us  because  they 


The  Eternal  Security  of  the  Believer  115 

were  not  of  us"  (1  Jno.  2:19),  or  they  are 
saved  and  perhaps  so  poorly  taught,  or  so  neg- 
lected in  shepherd  care,  that  they  are  utterly  con- 
fused and  are  "walking  in  darkness"  (1  Jno. 
1:6). 

Conversion  is  but  a  human  act  of  turning  about. 
It  can  be  done  many  times  and  even  a  believer 
may  be  converted  (Lk.  22 :  32).  Being  born  again 
is  a  different  experience  entirely.  With  it  there 
is  no  repetition  whatever,  nor  occasion  for  repe- 
tition. Some  modern  revival  converts  who  have 
heard  nothing  but  appeals  for  reformation  and 
a  general  exhortation  to  be  identified  with  re- 
ligion, can  hardly  be  expected  to  come  under  the 
same  gracious  keeping  of  God,  as  the  one  who 
has  come  to  God  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  who  has 
intelligently  rested  in  the  saving  grace  of  God  as 
revealed  in  His  Son. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  ETERNAL  SECURITY  OF  THE 
BELIEVER 

The  Doctrine  of  the  Scriptures 
Part  II 

THE  eternal  security  of  the  believer  is  revealed 
in  a  well-defined  body  of  Scripture  the  interpre- 
tation of  which  is  not  subject  to  question  as  to  its 
exact  meaning,  or  as  to  the  fact  that  it  refers 
only  to  salvation,  if  the  plain  teaching  of  the 
Word  of  God  is  taken  to  be  the  final  statement  of 
truth.  Those  passages  which  have  been  thought 
by  some  to  teach  that  a  Christian  might  be  lost 
again,  together  with  certain  questions  of  doubt, 
have  been  considered  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
and  the  way  is  clear,  so  far  as  this  discussion  is 
concerned,  to  give  undivided  attention  to  the  posi- 
tive words  of  certainty  regarding  the  divine  keep- 
ing guaranteed  in  the  Word  to  every  child  of  God. 
Complete  exposition  of  this  extensive  body  of 
Scripture  would  be  impossible  within  the  limits 
of  this  chapter.  As  in  the  preceding  chapter,  the 
passages  may  best  be  grouped  under  certain  gen- 
eral heads,  and  representative  passages  of  the 
Scriptures  in  this  body  of  truth  considered  in  each 
of  these  divisions.  According  to  His  Word,  the 
true  child  of  God  is  secure  in  the  divine  keep- 
ing for  at  least  seven  reasons: 

I.   The  Purpose,  Power  and  'Present  TAttitude 
of  God  the  Father. 

1.  The  Purpose  of  God. 
116 


The  Eternal  Security  of  the  Believer  117 

The  divine  revelation  unfolds  the  eternal  past, 
the  present  order  in  time,  and  the  eternal  future. 
To  all  these  the  saved  one  is  closely  related.  From 
the  beginning  he  was  in  the  thought  and  purpose 
of  God;  he  is  now  in  the  day  of  decision  and 
grace;  and  the  eternity  to  come  is  made  glorious 
by  the  sure  realization  of  the  design  of  God  for 
him.  "For  whom  he  did  Jorebao^,  he  also  did 
predestinate  to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  his 
Son,  that  he  might  be  the  firstborn  among  many 
brethren,  moreover  whom  he  did  predestinate, 
them  he  also  called:  and  whom  he  called,  them 
he  also  justified:  and  whom  he  justified,  them  he 
also  glorified"  (Rom.  8:29,  30).  "According  as 
he  hath  chosen  us  in  him  before  the  foundation 
of  the  world,  that  we  should  be  holy  and  without 
blame  before  him"  (Eph.  1:4). 

These  passages  sweep  the  whole  eternity.  They 
reveal  a  divine  purpose  in  the  dateless  past  and 
reach  on  to  its  realization  in  the  eternity  to  come, 
and  all  without  reference  to  human  conditions. 
Still  another  passage,  related  only  to  the  ages  to 
come,  reveals  that  this  will  all  be  accomplished  as 
a  sufficient  display,  to  all  created  beings,  of  the 
grace  of  God:  "And  hath  raised  us  up  together, 
and  made  us  sit  together  in  the  heavenly  in  Christ 
Jesus:  that  in  the  ages  to  come  he  might  show 
the  exceeding  riches  of  his  grace  in  his  kindness 
toward  us  through  Christ  Jesus"  (Eph.  2:6,  Y). 

The  solemn  question  confronts  every  thought- 
ful person,  therefore,  whether  the  infinite  God 
can  realize  His  eternal  purpose,  or  is  He  baffled 
and  uncertain  in  the  presence  of  the  object  of 


118  Salvation 

His  own  creative  power?  To  this  question  the 
Scriptures  give  no  uncertain  answer. 

2.  The  Power  of  God. 

God  has  not  only  revealed  Himself  as  Creator 
and  Lord  of  all,  but  it  has  pleased  Him  to  give 
the  most  minute  and  exact  assurance  of  His  abil- 
ity to  do  for  His  child  that  which  He  purposed 
in  the  ages  past.  Speaking  of  what  He  would 
have  us  know,  it  is  said:  "And  what  is  the  ex- 
ceeding greatness  of  his  power  to  us-ward  who 
believe,  according  to  the  working  of  his  mighty 
power,  which  he  wrought  in  Christ,  when  he  raised 
him  from  the  dead,  and  set  him  at  his  own  right 
hand  in  the  heavenly  (Eph.  1:19,  20).  "My 
sheep  hear  my  voice,  and  I  know  them,  and  they 
follow  me:  and  I  give  unto  them  eternal  life; 
and  they  shall  never  perish,  neither  shall  any 
(created  thing)  pluck  them  out  of  my  hand"  ( Jno. 
10:27,  28).  This  is  true  of  "my  sheep."  No 
power  created  is  sufficient  to  pluck  them  out  of 
His  hand.  Even  the  "free  will"  of  the  sheep  can- 
not, and  will  not,  bring  him  to  the  point  of  per- 
ishing. "Who  are  thou  that  judgest  another  man's 
servant  ?  to  his  own  master  he  standeth  or  f  alleth. 
Yea,  he  shall  be  holden  up:  for  God  is  able  to 
make  him  stand"  (Rom.  14 :  4) .  "I  know  whom 
I  have  believed,  and  am  persuaded  that  he  is  able 
to  keep  that  which  I  have  committed  unto  him 
(guard  my  deposit)  against  that  day"  (2  Tim. 
1: 12).  "Now  unto  him  that  is  able  to  keep  you 
from  falling  (stumbling)  and  to  present  you  fault- 
less before  the  presence  of  his  glory  with  ex- 
ceeding joy"  (Jude  24).  Such  is  the  testimony 


The  Eternal  Security  of  the  Believer  119 

of  the  Holy  Spirit  concerning  the  sufficient  power 
of  God  for  the  believer's  eternal  keeping. 

3.  The  Attitude  of  God. 

Could  it  be  possible  that  God  would  so  love 
an  individual  as  to  give  His  only  Son  to  die  for 
him  and  still  love  him  to  the  extent  of  follow- 
ing him  with  the  pleadings  and  drawings  of  His 
grace  until  He  has  won  that  soul  into  His  own 
family  and  household  and  created  him  anew  by 
the  impartation  of  His  own  divine  nature,  and 
then  be  careless  as  to  what  becomes  of  the  one 
He  has  thus  given  His  all  to  procure?  Here, 
again,  the  Scriptures  make  positive  reply.  "But 
God  commendeth  his  love  toward  us,  in  that  while 
we  were  yet  sinners  Christ  died  for  us.  Much 
more  then,  being  now  justified  by  his  blood,  we 
shall  be  saved  from  wrath  through  him.  For 
if,  when  we  were  enemies,  we  were  reconciled  to 
God  by  the  death  of  his  Son,  much  more,  being 
reconciled,  we  shall  be  saved  by  his  life"  (Rom. 
5 :  8-10).  "Much  more"  is  a  term  of  comparison. 
He  gave  His  Son  to  die  for  us  while  we  were 
yet  sinners  and  most  abhorent,  as  such,  to  His 
absolute  purity  and  holiness.  Such  is  the  bound- 
less love  which  He  has  commended  to  us  through 
the  cross.  But  much  more  than  His  attitude  of 
love  toward  sinners  will  be  His  attitude  of  love 
toward  those  whom  He  has  cleansed,  transformed, 
redeemed  and  created  anew  as  His  own  beloved 
children  in  grace.  If  He  will  save  sinners  at  the 
price  of  the  blood  of  His  only  begotten  Son,  much 
more,  when  they  are  justified,  will  He  save  them 
from  wrath  through  Him.  This  great  compari- 


120  Salvation 

son  is  repeated  in  the  text  apparently  for  empha- 
sis. For  if,  when  we  were  enemies,  we  were  rec- 
onciled to  God  by  the  death  of  His  Son,  much 
more,  being  reconciled,  we  shall  be  (kept)  saved 
through  His  life  (or  the  fact  that  He  is  now  alive 
and  appearing  for  us  at  the  right  hand  of  God. 
See  Eom.  8:  34;  Heb.  7:  25).  The  testimony  of 
the  Bible,  then,  is  that  the  attitude  of  love  and 
care  of  God  for  those  whom  He  has  saved  will 
be  much  more  than  the  attitude  of  love,  sur- 
passing knowledge,  for  enemies  and  sinners  as 
it  has  been  manifested  in  the  cross. 

Not  only  is  it  revealed  that  God  is  disposed 
to  keep  the  one  whom  He  has  saved,  but  the  true 
child  of  God  is  also  a  gift  of  the  Father  to  the 
Son  (Jno.  10:29;  17:6,  9,  11)  and  has  been 
committed  to  the  keeping  power  of  the  Father  by 
the  prayer  of  the  Son.  "Holy  Father  keep." 
That  prayer  will  be  answered. 

Thus  it  may  be  concluded  that  should  the  saved 
one  be  lost,  the  eternal  purpose  of  God  will  have 
been  thwarted.  Admitting  this,  it  must  be  con- 
cluded that  He  Who  can  design  a  universe  whose 
remotest  star  shall  not  deviate  by  a  second  from 
its  appointments  throughout  the  ages;  Who  can 
plan  the  universe  from  the  highest  arch-angel  to 
the  marvelous  organism  of  the  smallest  insect; 
Whose  purpose  has  never  yet  been  known  to  fail — 
that  such  a  God  may  be  defeated  by  the  mere 
creature  His  hands  have  made.  If  the  saved  one 
is  finally  lost,  it  must  also  be  concluded  that  God 
is,  to  that  degree,  lacking  in  power.  He  Who  has 
testified  that  not  one  of  His  sheep  will  ever  per- 


The  Eternal  Security  of  the  Believer  121 

ish,  must  yet  retract  His  bold  assertions  and 
humbly  submit  to  a  power  that  is  greater  than 
His  own.  He  Who  created  and  holds  the  uni- 
verse in  His  hands;  Who  calls  things  that  are 
not  as  though  they  were;  Who  could  speak  the 
word  and  dismiss  every  atom  of  matter  and  life 
from  existence  forever  must  retire  before  the  over- 
lordship  of  some  creature  of  His  hand. 

And,  lastly,  admitting  the  revelation  concern- 
ing God's  eternal  purpose  and  His  infinite  power 
to  accomplish  that  purpose,  if  it  could  still  be 
proven  that  the  saved  one  might  be  lost  we  would 
be  shut  up  to  the  one  and  final  conclusion  that 
it  could  be  so  only  because  the  All-powerful  God 
did  not  sufficiently  care  to  keep  those  whom  His 
power  had  created  as  new-born  children.  But 
what  do  we  find  ?  The  revelation  is  full  of  testi- 
mony concerning  that  very  care.  Who  can  meas- 
ure the  revealed  devotion  of  His  boundless  love 
toward  the  objects  of  His  saving  grace?  Who 
will  dare  claim  that  He  will  not  answer  the 
prayer  of  His  Son? 

II.  The  Substitutionary ',  Sacrificial  Death  of 
God  the  Son. 

There  is  no  spiritual  progress  to  be  made  until 
one  is  convinced  that  something  final  was  accom- 
plished at  the  cross  in  regard  to  sin.  Nor  will 
it  do  to  believe  that  the  thing  accomplished 
applies  only  to  such  sins  as  have  already 
been  committed,  or  for  which  forgiveness  has 
already  been  granted.  Something  has  been  done 
concerning  every  sin  that  ever  has  been  committed, 
or  that  will  yet  be  committed  by  man,  and  conse- 


122  Salvation 

quently  every  person  has  been  vitally  affected  by 
the  cross.  It  does  not  baffle  our  God  to  deal  with 
sins  before  they  are  committed.  Had  He  not 
done  this  there  could  now  be  no  grounds  of  sal- 
vation for  any  sinner  in  this  age.  So  complete 
has  been  the  sacrificial  work  of  the  Son  of  God 
that  the  Spirit  has  testified:  "Behold  the  Lamb 
of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world"; 
"He  tasted  death  for  every  man" ;  "He  is  the 
propitiation  for  our  sins:  and  not  for  ours  only, 
but  also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world";  "He 
died  for  all."  Because  of  the  thing  which  He 
has  accomplished  by  His  death,  the  present  con- 
demnation of  sinners  is  said  to  be  no  longer  due 
primarily  to  the  fact  of  their  sins,  but  to  the 
fact  that  they  will  not  receive  the  remedy  God 
has  in  infinite  love  provided:  "He  that  believeth 
on  him  is  not  condemned :  but  he  that  believeth  not 
is  condemned  already,  because  he  hath  not  believed 
in  the  name  of  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God.  And 
this  is  the  condemnation,  that  light  is  come  into 
the  world,  and  men  loved  darkness  rather  than 
light,  because  their  deeds  were  evil"  (Jno.  3 : 18, 
19).  "He  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned" 
(Mk.  16:16).  "God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling 
the  world  unto  himself,  not  imputing  their  tres- 
passes unto  them"  (2  Cor.  5:19).  "Of  sin,  be- 
cause they  believe  not  on  me"  (Jno.  16:  9).  To 
this  sin  of  rejecting  the  lavishing  of  God's  mercy 
and  grace  must  be  added  the  fact  that  those  who 
thus  reject  have  chosen,  in  practical  effect,  to  stand 
under  the  burden  of  their  own  sins,  as  though 
Christ  had  not  died. 


The  Eternal  Security  of  the  Believer  123 

It  is  a  matter  of  revelation  that  even  the  un- 
saved are  not  now  condemned  because  of  the  sins 
which  Christ  has  borne.  How  much  less  could  a 
true  child  of  God  be  condemned  because  of  his 
sins !  "There  is,  therefore,  now  no  condemnation 
to  them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus."  The  saved 
one  will  be  brought  into  judgment  concerning  his 
life  and  service  (2  Cor.  5: 10),  and  be  chastened 
of  the  Father  (Heb.  12 :  6)  ;  but  never  will  he 
"be  condemned  with  the  world"  (1  Cor.  11 :  31, 
32).  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  he  that 
heareth  my  word,  and  believeth  on  him  that  hath 
sent  me,  hath  everlasting  life,  and  shall  not  come 
into  judgment;  but  is  passed  from  death  unto 
life"  (Jno.  5 :  24).  "He  that  believeth  on  him  is 
not  condemned"  (Jno.  3:18). 

Although  the  child  of  God  will  not  be  con- 
demned, God  is  not  indifferent  concerning  the 
manner  of  his  daily  life.  He  has  other  and  more 
effective  ways  of  prompting  His  children  to  nor- 
mal living  under  grace  than  to  hold  over  them 
the  terrors  of  instantly  perishing  as  the  result  of 
sin.  A  wise  mother,  even,  has  other  resources  in 
correcting  and  developing  her  child  than  instant 
murder  for  the  slightest  deviation  from  her  will. 
Sin  is  never  mitigated,  because  it  is  committed 
by  a  Christian;  it  is  terrible  in  God's  holy  eyes: 
but  it  is  still  His  child  that  sins  and  He  has  Him- 
self provided  that  even  sin  shall  never  hinder  the 
exercise  of  His  eternal  love.  He  has  forever 
swept  sin's  judgments  out  of  His  own  way. 

The  child  in  the  Father's  house  may  lose  his 
fellowship,  joy,  peace  and  power  and  even  come 


124  Salvation 

under  the  Father's  chastening  hand,  because  he 
is  a  son,  but  he  is  not  to  be  condemned.  When 
he  is  chastened  it  is  not  a  question  of  making,  or 
breaking,  his  sonship:  it  is  all  because  he  is  a 
son.  Even  of  the  world  it  is  said  that  God  is 
"not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto  them." 

The  child  of  God  is  said  to  "stand  in  grace." 
This  is  far  removed  from  standing  in  works  or 
any  personal  merit.  Because  of  the  cross,  our 
God  is  able  to  save  us  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
we  have  sinned  and  are  without  merit  before  Him. 
Because  of  that  same  cross  and  on  the  same 
grounds  of  justice,  He  is  able  also  to  keep  us 
saved  who  may  be  sinning  and  who  can  claim 
no  worthiness  in  His  sight.  The  very  same  pro- 
visions of  grace  which  made  it  possible  to  save  us 
at  all,  make  it  equally  possible  for  us  to  be  kept 
saved  for  all  eternity. 

To  claim  that  the  child  of  God  is  not  safe  be- 
cause of  the  supposed  unsaving  power  of  sin,  is 
to  put  sin  above  the  blood  and  to  set  at  naught 
the  eternal  redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus. 
If  there  is  real  solicitude  as  to  the  moral  effect 
of  this  revelation,  let  it  be  rememberd  that,  ac- 
cording to  the  Bible,  this  truth,  so  far  from  being 
considered  a  license  to  sin,  is  the  greatest  divine 
incentive  to  true  holiness,  and  as  important  as 
the  believer's  life  and  conduct  is,  it  is  under  other 
and  more  effective  divine  care. 

III.    The  Sealing  ~by  God  the  Spirit. 

The  believer  has  been  sealed  by  the  Spirit  of 
God  unto  the  day  of  redemption.  "And  grieve 
not  the  holy  Spirit  of  God,  whereby  ye  are  sealed 


The  Eternal  Security  of  the  Believer  125 

unto  the  day  of  redemption"  (Eph.  4 :  30,  see 
also  Eph.  1:13;  2  Cor.  1:22).  Nothing  could 
be  more  final  than  this.  The  Spirit  Himself  is 
the  seal.  His  blessed  presence  in  every  true  child 
of  God  is  the  divine  mark  of  ownership,  purpose 
and  destiny.  The  Spirit  Who  was  sent  to  abide 
in  us  will  not  withdraw.  He  may  be  grieved,  or 
quenched  (resisted),  but  He  abides.  This  He 
does  as  the  divine  guaranty  that  there  shall 
be  no  failure  in  any  purpose  of  God  and 
the  sealed  one  will  reach  his  eternal  glory 
and  the  eternal  blessedness  of  "the  day  of 
redemption." 

It  is  easily  concluded  by  some,  and  because  to 
them  it  seems  reasonable,  that  the  divine  Person 
cannot  remain  in  a  heart  where  there  is  sin.  Such 
are  soon  driven  either  to  judge  themselves  to  be 
absolutely  without  sin,  or  else  to  be  lost.  They 
evidently  do  not  realize  the  value  of  the  cross  as 
the  divinely  provided  answer  to  every  challenge 
of  righteousness  that  may  arise  because  of  sin, 
nor  do  they  seem  to  have  considered  deeply  that 
body  of  Scripture  which  reveals  the  fact  that  God 
can  and  does  get  on  with  imperfect  Christians. 
Out  of  such  imperfect  material  He  must  people 
heaven,  so  far  as  humanity  is  concerned,  else  that 
blessed  place  will  stand  empty  throughout  eter- 
nity. The  Spirit  can  righteously  abide  in  every 
Christian.  He  does  thus  abide,  for  God  has  said 
it.  His  sealing  will  endure  unto  the  "day  of  re- 
demption." To  claim  that  the  child  of  God  may 
yet  be  lost  is  to  ignore  the  power  and  sufficiency 
of  the  infinite  Spirit  Who  has  sealed  every  saved 


126  Salvation 

one  unto  the  day  of  redemption  by  His  unchang- 
ing abiding  Presence. 

IV.  The  Unconditional  New  Covenant  Made  in 
His  Blood. 

Of  all  the  covenants  God  has  made  with  man 
some  are  conditional  and  some  are  unconditional. 
The  conditional  covenant  is  made  to  depend  upon 
the  faithfulness  of  man:  "if  ye  will  do  good  I 
will  bless  you."  The  unconditional  covenant  is 
a  direct  declaration  of  the  purpose  of  God,  and 
depends  on  Him  alone.  "I  will  make  of  thee  a 
great  nation,  and  in  thee  all  the  families  of  the 
earth  shall  be  blessed."  This  was  God's  uncon- 
ditional covenant  with  Abraham.  It  was  uncon- 
ditional in  that  God  in  no  way  related  its  accom- 
plishment to  Abraham's  conduct  or  faithfulness. 
Jehovah  was  certainly  interested  in  Abraham's 
conduct;  but  He  in  no  degree  made  conduct  a 
part  of  the  basis  of  the  great  undertaking  stated 
in  the  covenant.  In  ratifying  a  portion  of  the 
covenant  made  to  Abraham,  God  alone  passed  be- 
tween the  pieces  of  the  carcasses  while  Abraham 
lay  motionless  in  a  very  deep  sleep  (Gen.  15:4- 
17).  Abraham  had  nothing  to  do  with  it.  He 
was  committed  to  nothing  whatsoever,  and  was 
wholly  set  aside.  Such  is  the  fact  and  force  of 
an  unconditional  covenant. 

"The  new  covenant  made  in  his  blood"  is  in 
like  manner  unconditional.  It  is  especially  men- 
tioned in  Heb.  8 :  7-10 :  25  and  includes  every 
promise  of  God  for  salvation  and  keeping  for 
believers  in  this  age  of  grace.  This  "new  cove- 
nant made  in  his  blood"  is  unconditional,  since 


The  Eternal  Security  of  the  Believer  127 

it  wholly  passes  over  every  question  of  human 
merit,  or  conduct,  and  consists  in  the  mighty  dec- 
larations of  what  God  is  free  to  do  and  will  do 
in  sovereign  grace  for  the  one  who  believes  on  His 
Son.  We  enter  this  covenant  by  believing.  This 
should  not  be  confused  with  the  conditions  within 
the  covenant.  The  new  covenant  is  not  condi- 
tioned by  our  believing,  but  is  unconditionally  de- 
clared to  those  who  do  believe. 

No  human  conditions  are  found  in  the  follow- 
ing passages:  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you, 
he  that  heareth  my  word,  and  believeth  on  him 
that  sent  me,  hath  everlasting  life,  and  shall 
not  come  into  condemnation;  but  is  passed  from 
death  unto  life"  ( Jno.  5 :  24)  ;  "All  that  the 
Father  giveth  me  shall  come  to  me ;  and  him  that 
cometh  to  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out"  (Jno. 
6:  37)  ;  "And  I  give  unto  them  eternal  life;  and 
they  shall  never  perish,  neither  shall  any  man 
pluck  them  out  of  my  hand.  My  father,  which 
gave  them  me,  is  greater  than  all;  and  no  man 
(creation)  is  able  to  pluck  them  out  of  my 
Father's  hand"  (Jno.  10 :  28,  29)  ;  "And  we  know 
that  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  them 
that  love  God,  to  them  who  are  the  called  accord- 
ing to  his  purpose.  For  whom  he  did  foreknow, 
he  also  did  predestinate  to  be  conformed  to  the 
image  of  his  Son,  that  He  might  be  the  first- 
born among  many  brethren.  Moreover,  whom 
he  did  predestinate,  them  he  also  called:  and 
whom  he  called,  them  he  also  justified:  and  whom 
he  justified,  them  he  also  glorified"  (Rom. 
8 :  28-30)  ;  "Being  confident  of  this  very  thing, 


128  Salvation 

that  he  which  hath  begun  a  good  work  in  you  will 
perform  it  until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ"  (Phil. 
1:6);  "And  the  Lord  shall  deliver  me  from 
every  evil  work,  and  will  preserve  me  unto  his 
heavenly  kingdom :  to  whom  be  glory  for  ever  and 
ever.  Amen"  (2  Tim.  4:  18). 

These  declarations  do  not  once  descend  to  the 
level  of  human  life  and  conduct:  they  define  the 
divine  intent  and  purpose.  Were  they  to  be  con- 
ditioned in  the  slightest  degree  upon  human  merit, 
the  ultimate  goal  of  Christlikeness  could  never  be 
realized  for  any  fallen  being.  It  is  sometimes 
asserted  that  a  condition  of  good  conduct  is  im- 
plied in  these  passages  which  together  form  the 
new  covenant.  Nothing  is  implied  whatsoever. 
If  God  shall  choose  to  make  an  unconditional 
covenant  how  could  He  more  clearly  state  it? 
Or  how  could  His  exact  truth  be  preserved  if  men 
are  free  to  qualify  His  Word? 

To  claim  that  a  Christian  may  be  lost  through 
the  issues  of  his  daily  life  is  to  make  an  eternal, 
unconditional  covenant,  made  by  God  in  sovereign 
grace,  seem  to  be  a  mere  legal  demand  with  which 
no  human  being  could  ever  hope  to  comply.  It 
would  be  tampering  with  the  word  of  His  grace. 

V.     The  Intercession  and  Advocacy  of  Christ. 

Many  have  placed  an  emphasis  out  of  all  due 
proportion  upon  the  three  years'  ministry  of 
Christ  on  the  earth  as  compared  with  His  present 
ministry  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  So  little  is 
this  latter  ministry  considered  that  it  is  almost 
unknown  to  many  Christians;  but  no  one  can 
enter  intelligently  into  the  revelation  concerning 


The  Eternal  Security  of  the  Believer  129 

the  fact,  purpose  and  value  of  the  present  ministry 
of  Christ  and  not  be  assured  of  the  eternal  se- 
curity of  all  who  have  put  their  trust  in  Him. 
Whatever  else  lies  within  the  purpose  of  the 
Eternal  Son  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  the  Scrip- 
tures reveal  only  that  He  is  there  for  the  keeping 
of  His  own  who  are  in  the  world. 

The  present  heavenly  ministry  of  Christ  is  both 
intercessory  and  advocatory.  As  Intercessor  He 
prays  for  all  that  the  Father  hath  given  Him,  or 
every  member  of  His  blessed  body.  This  prayer 
is  concerning  their  weakness  and  helplessness.  His 
intercessory  ministry  began  with  His  High 
Priestly  prayer  which  He  prayed  before  His 
death,  as  recorded  in  Jno.  17.  This  petition,  it 
should  be  noted,  is  not  only  limited  to  His  own 
in  the  world,  but  altogether  for  their  keeping  and 
fitting  for  their  heavenly  destiny.  He  also  con- 
tinues to  pray  only  for  His  own,  and  concerning 
their  keeping  and  destiny  (Rom.  8:34;  Heb. 
7:25).  No  child  of  God  will  ever  know  before 
reaching  heaven  from  what  dangers  and  testings 
he  has  been  saved  by  the  faithful  and  unfailing 
intercession  of  his  Lord.  He  is  the  Great  Shep- 
herd of  the  Sheep,  brought  again  from  the  dead 
through  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant  Who 
is  guarding  His  own,  and  of  them  He  will  say: 
"And  I  have  lost  none  of  them,  save  the  son  of 
perdition  that  the  Scriptures  might  be  fulfilled" ; 
while  they  can  say  of  Him,  "The  Lord  is  my 
Shepherd,  I  shall  not  want." 

It  is  inconceivable  that  the  prayer  of  the  Son 
of  God  should  not  be  answered.  It  was  answered 


130  Salvation 

in  the  case  of  Peter.  "And  the  Lord  said,  Simon, 
Simon,  behold,  Satan  hath  desired  to  have  you, 
that  he  might  sift  you  as  wheat :  but  I  have  prayed 
for  thee,  that  thy  faith  fail  not."  He  did  not 
pray  that  Peter  should  be  kept  out  of  Satan's 
sieve.  He  did  pray  that  Peter's  faith  might  not 
fail,  and  it  did  not  fail.  What  consolation  it 
yields  to  contemplate  the  fact  that  He,  with  all 
His  understanding  of  every  weakness  and  danger 
before  us,  is  praying  this  moment,  and  every  mo- 
ment, for  us!  His  is  not  a  prayer  that  will  not 
avail.  His  praying  is  perfect  and  the  result  is 
absolute.  Moreover,  His  intercession  is  without 
end. 

The  Aaronic  priesthood  was  most  limited  in  its 
continuance  because  of  the  death  of  the  priest. 
"But  this  man  (Christ),  because  he  continueth 
ever,  hath  an  unchangeable  priesthood.  Where- 
fore he  is  able  also  to  save  them  to  the  uttermost 
that  come  unto  God  by  him,  seeing  he  ever  liveth 
to  make  intercession  for  them"  (Heb.  7:  24,  25). 

He  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  (Greek, 
panteles,  meaning  forever,  or  perfectly  in  point 
of  time).  Such  security  is  vouchsafed  only  to 
those  "who  come  unto  God  by  Him,"  and  such 
security  is  assured  to  these  on  no  other  grounds, 
in  this  passage,  than  that  "He  ever  liveth  to  make 
intercession  for  them." 

As  Advocate  He  now  "appears  in  the  presence 
of  God  for  us"  (Heb.  9 :  24).  This  ministry  has 
to  do  only  with  the  believer's  sin.  "If  any 
(Christian)  man  sin,  we  have  an  advocate  with 
the  Father  (not  an  advocate  with  God),  Jesus 


The  Eternal  Security  of  the  Believer  131 

Christ  the  righteous"  (1  Jno.  2:1).  In  exercis- 
ing this  ministry  He  does  not  continue  to  atone 
for  sins  as  they  are  committed :  sin  has  been  atoned 
for  "once  for  all,"  and  what  He  does  is  in  the 
value  of  that  finished  work  of  the  cross.  He  does 
not  seek  to  excuse  the  sinning  Christian  before 
the  Father's  presence.  Sin  is  ever  that  soul-de- 
stroying stain  that  can  be  cleansed  only  by  His 
precious  blood;  but  the  blood  has  been  shed. 
Nor  is  He  appealing  for  the  pity  and  leniency 
of  God  the  Father  toward  the  Christian's  sin. 
God  cannot  be  lenient  toward  sin;  but  having 
perfectly  satisfied  every  demand  of  His  own 
righteousness  against  sin  by  the  cross;  He  can 
be  eternally  gracious  toward  the  sinner  who  has 
come  unto  Him  by  Jesus  Christ. 

The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  now  appearing  before 
the  face  of  God  for  us  and  He  appears  there  with 
His  glorified  human  body  in  which  are  the  scars 
of  His  crucifixion  (Zech.  13:  6).  It  is  the  pres- 
ence of  that  very  death-scarred  body  which  an- 
swers the  condemning  power  of  every  sin  of  the 
child  of  God.  It  is  also  a  sufficient  answer  to 
every  accusation  of  Satan  who  accuses  the  brethren 
before  God  day  and  night.  "Who  is  he  that  con- 
demneth  ?  It  is  Christ  that  died,  yea  rather,  that 
is  risen  again,  who  is  even  at  the  right  hand  of 
God."  It  is  Christ,  superior  to  all  finite  beings, 
Who  died.  The  death  of  such  as  He  is  the  un- 
disputable  answer  to  the  condemning  power  of 
every  sin ;  and  He  is  risen.  Oh  blessed  Presence ! 
Oh  eternal  safety!  No  condemnation  can  ever 
pass  His  nail-scarred  body.  What  priceless  con- 


132  Salvation 

solation  to  the  imperfect  and  sin-conscious  saint! 

We  have  been  kept  to  the  present  hour  by  the 
living  Intercessor  Who  ceases  not  to  shepherd  our 
wandering  feet,  and  by  the  living  Advocate  Who 
ceases  not  to  appear  for  us  before  the  right  hand 
of  the  Father.  The  same  Intercessor  and  Advo- 
cate will  yet  prevail  until  that  blessed  day  when 
we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is  and  be  like  Him. 

To  challenge  the  eternal  security  of  the  believer 
is  to  deny  that  the  prayer  of  the  Son  of  God  will 
be  answered  and  to  deny  the  eternal  efficacy  of  His 
atoning  blood.  In  ignorance,  perhaps,  such  insult 
has  been  heaped  upon  the  blessed  Saviour;  yet 
still  He  is  faithful.  He  prays  and  appears  before 
the  Father  in  behalf  of  just  such  ignorant  or  sin- 
ning believers. 

VI.     The  Eternal  Character  of  Salvation. 

Thirty-three  divine  transformations,  which  to- 
gether constitute  the  present  fact  of  the  Chris- 
tian's existence  as  in  distinction  to  the  unsaved, 
have  been  named  already  in  a  preceding  chapter. 
These,  it  has  been  seen,  are  all  eternal  by  their 
very  nature.  They  are  wholly  disassociated  from 
every  human  element  that  might  endanger  them, 
and  they  are  made  to  rest  alone  on  the  merit  of 
the  eternal  Son  of  God.  We  are  said  to  be  recon- 
ciled, redeemed,  dead  to  the  law  and  to  sin,  ac- 
ceptable to  God,  and  made  nigh,  all  by  virtue  of 
His  blood  and  not  by  any  merit  within  ourselves. 

Sonship  is  eternal.  It  is  the  result  of  a  birth 
which  secures  the  impartation  of  a  new  divine 
nature.  It  is  impossible  to  remove  from  a  child 
the  nature  of  his  human  father.  It  is  a  deeper 


The  Eternal  Security  of  the  Believer  133 

and  more  abiding  reality  to  have  partaken  of  the 
divine  nature.  The  born-again  one  thus  possesses 
"eternal  life"  by  a  legitimate  birth,  and  can 
"never  perish."  Such  terms  are  themselves  final. 
It  could  not  be  eternal  life  that  is  imparted  with 
no  possibility  of  perishing  and  then  be  lost  by  no 
greater  force  than  the  feeble  act  of  man,  that  act 
moreover  already  having  been  covered  with  aton- 
ing blood. 

Salvation  is  also  a  new  standing,  or  headship 
in  the  "last  Adam."  Removed  from  headship  of 
the  "first  Adam"  and  the  doom  of  his  fall,  the 
saved  one  is  now  "in  Christ"  and  a  partaker  of  the 
character  and  standing  of  his  new  Head,  the  Son 
of  God.  There  can  be  no  fall  in  the  "last  Adam." 

To  deny  the  eternal  security  of  the  believer  is 
to  challenge  the  eternal  character  of  the  riches  of 
divine  grace,  and  to  assume  that  the  very  Son  of 
God  may  fall  in  Whom  we  stand. 

VII.    The  Believer's  Heavenly  Perfection. 

Having  removed  by  the  cross  every  moral  ques- 
tion that  could  ever  arise  in  connection  with  the 
salvation  and  keeping  of  the  believer,  the  God  of 
all  grace  has  been  pleased  to  reveal  the  final  estate 
to  which  He  will  bring  us  in  satisfying  His  own 
infinite  love.  There  is  nothing  greater  in  the 
power  of  God  for  us  than  that  we  should  be  "con- 
formed to  the  image  of  his  Son."  Such  a  blessed- 
ness could  be  assured  only  on  the  very  conditions 
which  would  at  the  same  time  guarantee  the  eter- 
nal security  of  the  believer.  That  final  perfection, 
"like  him,"  is  possible  only  as  every  human  ele- 
ment is  set  aside.  Were  we  able  to  effect  our 


134  Salvation 

salvation  by  the  slightest  degree  it  would,  in  so 
much,  fail  of  the  divine  purpose.  He,  of  neces- 
sity, has  kept  it  all  in  His  own  power,  and  nothing 
can  now  hinder  Him  in  the  fullest  satisfaction  of 
His  knowledge-surpassing  love. 

That  final  perfection,  "like  him,"  is  also  to  be 
a  manifestation,  to  all  created  beings,  of  the  grace 
of  God.  It  is  to  be  manifested  by  means  of  "His 
kindness  toward  us  through  Jesus  Christ."  By 
His  redeemed  ones  He  proposes  to  show  His  grace 
and  to  show  it  on  a  scale  that  will  be  wholly  satis- 
fying to  Himself.  Grace  is  unmerited,  unrecom- 
pensed  favor,  and  if  He  is  to  show  His  grace 
finally  and  perfectly  by  the  salvation  and  keeping 
of  His  own  redeemed  children,  it  can  be  such  a 
display  of  His  grace  only  as  it  is  wholly  removed 
from  human  works  and  merit.  Being  completely 
removed  from  the  failing  grounds  of  human  merit, 
there  is  nothing  that  can  happen  in  the  believer's 
life,  under  the  gracious  care  of  God,  that  can  re- 
move him  from  His  eternal  purpose. 

The  first  eight  chapters  of  the  letter  to  the 
Romans  present  the  exhaustive  divine  statement 
concerning  salvation,  and  this  great  portion  of 
Scripture  closes  with  an  absolute  declaration  of 
security  for  the  one  who  believes.  It  is  like  the 
closing  chords  of  a  great  symphony.  The  Spirit 
of  God,  through  the  Apostle,  approaches  this 
final  declaration  through  seven  questions,  the  an- 
swers of  which  will  be  found  to  be  a  condensed 
statement  of  the  divine  revelation  concerning  the 
keeping  power  of  God.  This  statement  will  be 
found  in  Rom.  8 :  29-39,  and  the  questions  are : 


The  Eternal  Security  of  the  Believer  135 

First,  "What  shall  we  say  to  these  things  ?" 

The  things  referred  to  are  the  successive  steps 
of  sovereign  grace  and  power  which  are  taken  in 
bringing  the  believer  to  his  final  glory.  In  this 
passage  time  is  lost  sight  of  and  human  worthi- 
ness is  passed  over  in  the  resistless  onward  move- 
ment of  the  eternal  purpose  of  God.  "For  whom 
he  did  foreknow,  he  also  did  predestinate  to  be 
conformed  to  the  image  of  his  Son,  that  he  might 
be  the  first-born  among  many  brethren.  Moreover, 
whom  he  did  predestinate,  them  he  also  called: 
and  whom  he  called,  them  he  also  justified:  and 
whom  he  justified,  them  he  also  glorified."  What 
can  we  say  to  these  things?  What  wisdom  have 
we  to  speak?  We  can  only  yield  our  hearts  and 
believe  what  He  has  spoken. 

Second,  "If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against 
us?" 

God  is  certainly  for  us.  He  spared  not  His 
own  Son  in  our  behalf.  Is  there  any  power  in 
the  universe  which  can  thwart  its  Creator?  The 
very  thought  is  almost  blasphemy. 

Third,  "How  shall  he  not  with  him  freely  give 
us  all  things  ?" 

Not  only  has  He  proven  Himself  inclined  to 
give,  by  the  superlative  gift  of  the  Son  of  His 
Love,  but  having  gained  us  at  such  a  price,  He  will 
not  spare  any  pains  to  keep  the  treasure  thus  pur- 
chased; nor  will  He  withhold  a  lesser  gift. 

Fourth,  "Who  shall  lay  anything  to  the  charge 
pf  God's  elect?" 

Such  a  charge  must  be  preferred  before  God  and 
He  does  nothing  but  justify.  He  may  chasten,  as 


136  Salvation 

a  Father  in  His  own  household ;  but  nothing  can 
be  laid  to  the  charge  of  His  elect  before  Him  Who 
is  now  free  to  justify. 

Fifth,  "Who  is  he  that  condemneth  ?" 

It  is  Christ  that  died.  This  means  much  more 
than  the  death  of  any  other  could  mean.  He  is  the 
Son  of  God,  and  His  sinlessness  and  infinite  being 
made  Him  a  perfect  sin-bearer.  It  is  not  the 
death  of  a  man  or  an  angel.  It  is  the  atoning 
death  of  the  Christ  of  God.  He  has  not  only  died, 
but  is  alive  for  evermore ;  yea,  is  even  at  the  right 
hand  of  God.  Because  of  His  presence  there, 
every  demand  of  an  offended  law  is  satisfied  in 
Him.  Who  can  condemn  with  Christ  at  the  right 
hand  of  God  ? 

Sixth,  "Who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of 
Christ?" 

~Not  now  the  love  of  the  Father,  or  our  poor 
love  for  Him;  but  who  can  make  us  unlovely  in 
His  eyes  ?  He  loved  us  while  we  were  yet  sinners. 
He  loves  us  still,  with  an  everlasting  love. 

Seventh,  "Shall  tribulation,  or  distress,  or  per- 
secution, or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or  peril,  or 
sword  ?" 

These  are  the  outward  experiences  in  life,  and 
the  trusting  heart  can  say,  "I  will  not  fear  what 
man  can  do  unto  me";  yea,  "all  things  work  to- 
gether for  good  to  them  that  love  God."  Such 
suffering  is  the  portion  of  the  child  of  God  in  this 
world.  "As  it  is  written,  For  thy  sake  we  are 
killed  all  the  day  long;  we  are  accounted  as  sheep 
for  the  slaughter.  Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are 
more  than  conquerors  through  him  that  loved  us." 


The  Eternal  Security  of  the  Believer  137 

But  there  are  the  greater  issues  of  death,  life, 
angels,  principalities,  powers,  things  present  and 
things  to  come,  height,  depth  and  every  unknown 
creation.  Can  we  boldly  speak  of  security  in  the 
face  of  such  unknown  and  unknowable  forces  ?  To 
this  the  Apostle's  clear  testimony  is  added.  "I 
am  persuaded,  that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor 
angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things 
present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth, 
nor  any  other  creature  (creation)  shall  be  able  to 
separate  us  from  the  love  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus." 
Twice  the  Apostle  employs  the  phrase,  "I  am  per- 
suaded." In  the  other  instance,  as  here,  it  ex- 
presses his  confidence  in  his  eternal  security  and 
keeping  in  the  power  and  grace  of  God.  "For  I 
Know  whom  I  have  believed,  and  am  persuaded 
that  he  is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  com- 
mitted unto  him  against  that  day"  (2  Tim.  1 :  12 ; 
cf.  Eom.  4:21). 

Such  is  the  faith  of  the  Apostle  Paul.  He  was 
persuaded  that  he  was  saved  for  time  and  eter- 
nity. Those  who  are  not  so  persuaded  can  hardly 
claim  to  hold  the  faith  of  the  Apostle,  or  to  honor 
the  clear  testimony  of  God. 


CHAPTER    XII 

AST  APPEAL 

SHOULD  you,  reader  of  this  book,  be  uncertain 
of  your  salvation,  or  know  that  you  are  not  saved, 
will  you  not  respond  to  the  loving  invitation  of 
your  God  and  come  to  Him  by  the  way  He  has 
provided  in  the  Person  and  cross  of  His  Son? 
Think  not  that  He  expects  anything  from  you 
but  your  whole  trust  in  Him  until  He  has  first 
saved  you  by  His  grace.  He  will  faithfully  do 
according  to  His  Word  the  moment  you  have 
chosen  positively  to  rest  your  salvation  in  His 
saving  power  and  grace  alone.  After  you  have 
thus  believed,  He  purposes  to  supply  all  the  enab- 
ling power  to  meet  all  the  problems  and  the  needs 
of  your  daily  life.  You  need  not  fear,  only  believe 
His  Word.  His  wisdom,  strength  and  bounty  are 
sufficient  for  you. 

Having  cast  yourself  upon  His  saving  grace  as 
it  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  you  have  the  right  to  believe 
that  He  has  saved  you,  and  you  should,  in  honor- 
ing His  faithfulness,  immediately  take  the  place 
of  a  son  before  Him  and  draw  moment  by  moment 
on  His  exhaustless  bounty  and  love. 

Should  you,  on  the  other  hand,  be  confident  that 
you  have  believed  and  are  assured  that  you  are  a 
child  of  God  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  will 
you  not  praise  Him  anew  for  "so  great  salvation" 
and  so  yield  yourself  to  Him  that  He  may  more 
perfectly  use  you  as  His  ambassador  to  tell  His 
138 


An  Appeal  139 

truth  to  others  ?  Will  you  not,  in  these  dark  days 
of  confusion  as  to  the  truth  of  God,  take  great  care 
to  be  accurate  in  the  presentation  of  this  priceless 
Gospel  message  to  others  ?  It  is  quite  possible  to 
mislead  souls  unintentionally  by  misstating  the 
divine  conditions  that  lead  to  life  eternal.  "Study 
to  shew  thyself  approved  unto  God,  a  workman 
that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly  dividing 
the  word  of  truth." 

The  privilege  of  preaching  the  Gospel  to  one 
soul  is  priceless.  So,  in  like  manner,  any  blun- 
der in  its  presentation  may  contribute  to  an  eter- 
nal disaster  and  woe.  Carelessness  in  preaching 
is  criminal  and  ignorance  is  inexcusable.  The 
Gospel  is  plain.  Earnestness  is  important,  but  no 
amount  of  earnestness  can  be  substituted  for  the 
exact  statement  of  God's  message  to  lost  men. 

It  is  too  often  supposed  that  preaching  about 
sin  is  preaching  the  Gospel.  Sometimes  the  pur- 
pose of  such  preaching  is  to  deepen  conviction 
concerning  sins  of  the  past.  Such  a  message  could 
be  of  value  only  as  it  prepares  the  way  for  the 
Gospel.  By  itself,  this  message  is  in  no  way  the 
good  news  of  saving  grace.  Men  do  not  have  to 
arrive  at  some  prescribed  degree  of  consciousness 
of  sin  in  order  to  be  saved.  They  need  only  to 
know  that  whatever  sin  God  may  have  seen  in 
their  lives  has  been  already  laid  on  His  atoning 
Lamb.  They  are  now  asked  to  believe  that  glo- 
rious message. 

Sometimes  preaching  against  sin  is  with  a  view 
to  encouraging  men  to  cease  sinning.  This  is  su- 
perficial indeed  and  unbiblical.  The  unsaved  are 
"  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,"  and  are  "  in  the 


140  Salvation 

power  of  darkness."  Sin  is  a  nature  as  well  as 
a  practice.  Fallen  man  would  be  lost  had  he  not 
sinned.  He  must  be  born  again ;  not  as  a  means 
of  correcting  the  effects  of  his  past  practices,  but 
because  of  his  fallen  Adamic  nature.  Being  spir- 
itually dead,  he  must  be  given  spiritual  life.  No 
reformation  can  change  the  fallen  state.  When 
preaching  against  sin,  it  is  well  to  remember  that 
the  unsaved  cannot  cease  sinning.  When  they  re- 
ceive the  Saviour,  they  will  receive  both  the  power 
to  discontinue  and  the  disposition  to  turn  from 
sinning. 

It  is  sometimes  supposed  that  to  preach  Chris- 
tian-living is  preaching  the  Gospel.  Sinners  are 
thus  told  to  "  walk  in  the  light,"  to  pray,  to  study 
the  Bible,  to  make  confession  of  sin,  or  to  repent. 
On  the  contrary,  they  have  no  light  in  which  to 
walk,  no  access  to  God  in  prayer,  no  understand- 
ing of  the  Scriptures  apart  from  the  message  of 
saving  grace  which  the  Spirit  will  use  to  their 
salvation.  They  are  on  no  grounds  of  relation- 
ship before  God  where  confession  could  be  of  any 
avail.  They  are  already  condemned.  They  can- 
not change  their  own  mind,  or  repent.  They  can 
believe  on  Christ  by  the  Spirit  and  such  believing 
includes  that  change  of  mind,  or  repentance, 
which  is  possible  to  the  -unsaved.  They  stand  con- 
fronted with  the  revelation  concerning  a  Saviour 
Who  waits  to  save.  He  is  to  be  believed  upon. 
Other  issues  can  serve  only  to  postpone  the  day  of 
salvation. 

Encouraging  men  to  believe  that  God  will  be 
merciful  is  not  preaching  the  Gospel.  All  such 


An  Appeal  141 

preaching  really  ignores  the  cross.  Salvation  ia 
not  a  present  act  of  generosity  and  leniency  on 
the  part  of  God.  Salvation  is  possible  because  the 
love  of  God  has  already  provided  all  that  a  sinner 
can  ever  need.  The  sinner  is  not  saved  by  plead- 
ing with  God  for  His  kindness:  he  is  saved  by 
believing  that  God  has  been  kind.  Such  is  the 
exact  place  of  the  cross  in  the  message  of  the 
Gospel. 

Preaching  the  Gospel  is  telling  men  something 
about  Christ  and  His  finished  work  for  them 
which  they  are  to  believe.  This  is  the  simplest 
test  to  be  applied  to  all  soul-saving  appeals.  The 
Gospel  has  not  been  preached  until  a  personal  mes- 
sage concerning  a  crucified  and  living  Saviour  has 
been  presented,  and  in  a  form  which  calls  for  the 
response  of  a  personal  faith. 

The  Saviour  said,  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  He  that  believeth  on  me  hath  everlasting 
life." 


Genesis 

PAGE 

Luke                                           ] 

?AdE 

6:5    

13 

7:50     

3 

15:4-17    

126 

10:  20    

66 

11:24-46     101, 

113 

Exodus 

14:  14    

91 

12:  13    

37 

18  :  9-14    

39 

19:  10    

8 

Leviticus 

22:  32    

115 

4:  35    

38 

24:  35    

25 

17:  11    

37 

John 

Psalms 

1:  12    

61 

51:5    

13 

1:  18     17. 

24 

1:  29     32. 

37 

Ecclesiastes 

3:3     6, 

11 

7:  20     

13 

3:6     13. 

67 

3:7    » 

61 

Isaiah 

3:  16    

32 

53:5.6     

..23,      32 

3:  16.  18-20    

9 

55:  6    

48 

3:  18  52.    60.    122, 

123 

64:6    

13 

3:  19     52. 

122 

3:  36     9. 

76 

Jeremiah 

5:  24    60.   123. 

127 

17:9     

13 

6:  28,  29     8. 

101 

6:  37    

127 

Ezekiel 

7:  37    

81 

33:  7   

99 

7:  39    

67 

8:  24    

53 

Zeehariah 

8:  31    

101 

18  :  6   

131 

8  ;  44    

75 

Matthew 
6:  14,  15    ... 

100 

10:  17.  18    . 
10:  27,  28    
10:  28,  29    

22 
118 
63 

6:  33    
7:  21,  23    ... 

8 

76,    104,   105.   114.   120. 
11:  26    

127 
104 

10  .  5,  6    

48 

14:  20    66,   69. 

75 

1°  :  13  

99 

15:  2    
15  •  5 

110 

16:  27    

91 

103 

18:  23-35    ... 

99 

16  •  9                                '  5°2° 

122 

20  :  1-6    

99 

17:  6.  9,  11     

130 

20:  28    
22:  14    

59 

17:  6,  11,  12.  20    

63 

106 

24:  13    

99 

17  '  17                                   4 

62 

24:8.9,21     . 

99 

' 

25:  1-13    

104 

25:  30    

99 

26:28     

37,      38 

2:  38    

4ft 

3  :  19    

48 

Mark 

5:  31    

48 

7:21-28     ... 

..9.      13 

8:  13    

51 

18:  18    

99 

10:  8    

25 

16:  18   

...51,   52,   122 

11:  18    

49 

143 


144         Index  of  Scripture  Texts 


Acta    (continued) 

PAGK 

1  Corinthians 

PAOE 

11:  21    

50 

1:9    

65 

13:  10    

61 

1:  18    

3 

15:  7    

51 

1:  30    

5.   62,      72 

15:  12,  14    

25 

2:  12    

67 

16:  30,  31    

3 

2:  14     

,  6.      11 

17:  30    

49 

3:9    

65 

20:  21    

49 

3:  11    

63 

21:  19    

25 

3  :  9-15    .  .  . 

93 

26:  20    

49 

3:  15    

108 

3:  17    

105 

4:5    

91 

Romans 

5:4    

91 

1:  16,  17    

73 

6:  11     

61.      62 

1:  19,  20    

17 

6:  19    

67 

1  :  29-32    

12 

9:  27    

106 

2:4    

49 

9:  18-27    .  . 

91 

2  :  29    

63 

10:  13     

105.   114 

3:  10-18    

12 

10:  17    

67 

3:  21,  22    

..62.   71. 

72 

10:  31    

90 

3:  24     

60. 

62 

11:  19    

107 

3:  25,26    

23, 

24 

11  :  29-32    .  . 

109 

39.    60, 

70 

11:  30    

110 

4:3-6    . 

72 

11:31,32     .. 

60.    123 

4:  21    

137 

12:  13     

...66.    67,     70 

4:22-25    

73 

15:  1,  2    

103 

4:  25    

60 

5:1    

62 

2   Corinthians 

5:  2    

64 

1:  21     

63,      67 

6:5    

67 

1:  22     

67,   125 

5:  8    

88 

2:  15    

4 

5  :  8-10    

119 

3:3    

65 

5:9,  10    

64 

3:6    

65 

5  :  19    

10 

3:  11    

61 

5:  21    

68 

4:  3,  4    

.6,    12,    43,      54 

6:4     

60, 

61 

5:  10     

91,   123 

6:6   

60 

5  :  14    

32 

6:8    

60 

5:14-21     .. 

34.      52 

6:  14     

4. 

61 

5:  17    

61 

6:  23     

76 

5:  18,  19     .. 

60,    122 

7:4    

61 

5:  20     

60,      65 

7:  6    

61 

5:  21    

23.   62.      72 

8:  1    

60 

6:1    

65 

8:2    

4 

6:4    

65 

8:4    

71 

6:  18    

61 

8:  7    

13 

7  :  8-11    .  .  . 

48 

8:9     

66. 

67 

8:  24    

25 

8:  13    

103 

10:  18    

107 

8:  15    

61 

11:  2    

66 

8:16-18     

66. 

102 

11:  14,  15    .. 

43 

8:  23    

61 

13:5    

75 

8:  28-30 
8:29,30     

59. 

127 
117 

Galatians 

8  :  29-39    

134 

2:  20    

78 

8:  33    

59 

3:  13    

73 

8:  34  

65.    120, 

129 

3:  25    

61 

10:1.2     

7, 

70 

3:  26    

61 

10:  2-4    

72 

4:6    

67 

11:  21    

105 

5:1-4    

110 

11:  32-36    

68 

5:  16    

4 

13:  11    

4 

5:  19-21    .. 

18 

14:  4    

118 

6:  15    

61 

14:  15    , 

103 

14:  18    

106 

Ephesians 

16:  10    

107 

1:3    

67 

Index  of  Scripture  Texts         145 


Ephesians  (continued)  PAGE 

1:4    117 

1:5    59 

1:6    10,   62,  73 

l;  7     38.  62 

1:  11    59 

1:  13    125 

1:  14    65 

1:  18    65 

1:  19,  20     64.  118 

2:1-2     9.    61,  114 

2:1-3    13 

2:4    64 

2:6    65 

2:7     64.  87 

2:6.    7    117 

2:8    4,   51.  64 

2:  10 1,  61,  86,  90 

2:  11.    12    2 

2:  12    12 

2:  13    63 

2:  18    64 

2:  19    66 

2 :  19-22    66 

2:  20    63 

3:  15    66 

4:  30     67,  125 

4:  32     62.  100 

5:2    64 

5:8    66 

5:25     27.  66 

5:25-27     5,  66 

5:  27    62 

6 :  6-8    90 

Philippians 

1:6   5,  64,  68,   128 

1:  28    25 

1:29    66 

2:  12,   13    ...4,   11,   64,   114 

3:3    63 

3:8.  9   70,     72 

Colossiang 

1:12    62 

1:13     11.  63 

1:14    60,  62 

1:  20    60 

1:  21-28    108 

1:  24    66 

1:27    76 

2:2    85 

2:  10    67 

2:  11    63 

2:  12    60 

2:  13     61.  62 

2:  13-15    63 

3:  1    61 

8:4    76 

8:  12    59 

3:15    65 

8 :  22-24   90 

8:  24    65 


1  Thessalonians 

1:1    

1:4    

1:9,    10 

3:3    

4:  13-18    . . 

5:4    

5:9    . 


PAGE 

.  66 

.  59 

.  49 

.  66 

.  99 

.  66 

.  99 


2  Thessalonians 
2:  16    


65 

1  Timothy 

2:1    32 

2:  26    37 

4:1,    2    100 

5:  12    110 

2  Timothy 

1:9    4 

1:  12     118.  137 

2:  12    66 

2:  15    107 

3:1-5    101 

4 :  3-4    101 

4:8    91 

4:  18     114.  128 


Titus 

1:1    

2:  12.    13 
2: 14    ... 

3:5    

3:7    


59 
64 
64 
61 
62 
1 


Hebrews 

2:9    82 

3:6,    14    103 

4:  14-16    64 

6:4-9    104 

6:  11     85 

7:  24.  25 120,  129,  130 

8:  17-10:  25     126 

9:5    38 

»:  15    65 

9:  22      38 

9:  24     65,  130 

10:1-14      20 

10:  24    62 

10:  19,  20    64 

10:22     63,  84 

10:  26    104 

12:  6    123 

12:  22    66 

13:  5    64 


James 
1 :  12 
2: 14-26 
2: 23    ... 
4:  8    


107 

103 

83 

63 


146        Index  of  Scripture  Texts 


1  Peter 
1:2 

PAGE 

59 

1  :  3-5  . 

5 

1:4 

65 

1:5 

,  114 

1:  18  . 

37,  60 

1:  23 

61 

2:4 

59 

2:5  .. 

2:  20 

..62,63,64,66,  74 
66 

2:  24  . 

60 

2  Peter 

2 :  1-22  101 

3:  3,  4  101 

3:9  49 

1  John 

1:  6  108,  115 

1:7  37 

1:9  59,  62,  108,  109 

2:1  131 

2:2  33.39,  60 

2:  19  115 

3:  1,2  2,  5 

3:3  61,  62 


PAGK 

3:  10  . 

83,  101 

3  :  14  

83 

8:  16.  

18,  88 

3:  24  

67,  83 

4:8  

83 

4:  9,  10  

18 

4:14,15  

83 

5  :  9-13  

84 

5:  12  

76 

5:  13  

81 

6:  19  

12 

£  John 

—  :  9-11  

101 

Jude 

—  :3  

100 

—  :  4-19  

101 

—  :  24  

118 

Revelation 

1:  6  

63 

2:5  

48 

5:9  

87 

22:  12  

91 

22:  19  

105 

INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS 

PAGK 

Accepted    61,  74 

Access  to  God 64 

Adopted     2,  61 

A  new  walk    60 

Appeal    133 

Assurance   and   security   contrasted    96 

Assurance  of  salvation 78-85 

Assurance,    three   aspects    84,  85 

Believe,  all  that  a  sinner  can  do 45 

Believe  all  the  Bible    15 

Believer's  heavenly  perfection    133,   134 

Believe,  the  one  issue 42—53 

Believe  what  is  written    79,     81 

Chastisement     109,   123 

Christ's  death,   the  one  reason    31-33 

Christ  died  for  all    33 

Christ's  finished  work    33 

Christ   indwelling    75—77 

Christ  Intercessor   and  Advocate    128-132 

Christ  reveals  God    15-30 

Christ  reveals  God's  love     17-22 

Christ  reveals  God's  righteousness     24—30 

Christ  reveals  man's  sin    22—24 

Christ  the  Substitute    18,  41,  121-124 

Christians,  can  they  be  saved  ?   114 

Christian  living  is  not  believing   46 

Christian's  new  incentive    74,  88-90 

Children  of  God    61 

Church 70 

Circumcised   in  Christ    63 

Complete  in  Him    67 

Confession  is  not  believing 46,     51 

Conversion  is  not  salvation    47,   115 

Definiteness  in  believing    80 

Delivered    63 

Evidence  of  salvation    83 

Experience   and   salvation    84 

Failure  of  some  converts 114 

Faith    83 

Faith  fails    112 

Faithfulness   of   God    79,  81 

Falling  from  grace   110 

False  teachers  of  the  last  days 100 

Fellowship   lost    108 

First  fruits  of  the  Spirit 67 

Five  facts  about  Christian  position    57—59 

Forgiveness .37,  38 

Free  from  the  law 61 

147 


148  Index  of  Subjects 

PAOl 

Glory 2       67 

God's  attitude  in  salvation    119 

God's  gift  to  Christ   • 

God's  holiness    vindicated    24-30 

God's  motives   in   salvation    86-88 

God's  power   in   salvation    118 

God's  purpose  in  salvation    1 

God's  sovereignty    120 

Heavenly .  association    65 

Heavenly  citizenship     68 

Hoping  God  will  be  good  is  not  believing   45,  140 

Household  of   God    66 

In  Adam    10 

In  Christ     10.  69-75 

Inheritance     °5 

Insecurity   passages    98—115 

In  the  eternal  plan  of  God 69 

Judgment  of  service 91-95 

Justification    62,     83 

Keeping  power  of  God 98 

License  and  sin    112 

Love  expressed   in  salvation    -.  .  89 

Love  expressed  in  service   89,  90 

Love  of  God  eternal - 21 

Love  revealed  only  in  the  cross   21 

Made   nigh    62 

Man  lost  because  he  does  not  believe   51-53,   123 

Message  from   God    .-- 15-30 

Misstatements  of  the  Gospel   45—53 

Morality  and  salvation    43 

Moral   reformation    101 

"  Much    more  "     64,   119 

New  covenant  unconditional    126-128 

New  headship,   in  Christ    133 

New  life  imparted 75—77 

One  issue  before  the  unsaved 44-46 

On  the  Rock,  Christ  Jesus   63 


dispensationally  misapplied    99 

Paul's   testimony   concerning  rewards    91-93 

Peculiar  people    .      63 

Positpns     - 59-67.      73 

Praying  is  not  believing   47 

Preaching  the  Gospel    139 

Priesthood  of  Christ    130,   131 

Priesthood  of  the  believer 63 

Profession  proven  by  fruit   101—103 

Propitiation 60 

Propitiation  in  the  New  Testament 39,     40 

Propitiation  in  the  Old  Testament 38 

Propitiation,   two-fold    38—41 

Questions  about  security   112-115,   134-136 

Reconciliation    59 

Reconciliation,  two-fold    35,     36 


Index  of  Subjects  149 

PAGK 

Redemption     60 

Redemption  not  God's  second  best   28 

Redemption,    two-fold    37-38 

Regeneration     75-77 

Repentance     48-51 

Repentance  in  John's  Gospel    53 

Rewards     86-95 

Rewards  may  be  lost 106—110 

Righteousness  imputed 24,  71-73 

Righteousness,  four  uses  of  the  word   70 

Righteousness   vindicated    26—30,      35 

Roman  soldiers'  part  in  Christ's  death    22-24 

Salvation  all  of  God 1,  54,      68 

Salvation  and  works 1,  6-8,  42,  47,  74,  78-85,  86-93 

Salyation,  Bible  meaning  of  the  word   1-5 

Salvation,   its   eternal  character 132 

Salvation  more  than  the  finished  work    42 

Salvation  originated  with   God    14,      15 

Salvation,  three  tenses    3,    4 

Satan  and  the  unsaved 9-14 

Saved  and  unsaved  contrasted   2,   7,   9-14 

Sealing  by  the   Spirit    124,   125 

Security  of  the  believer   96—197 

Seeking  the  Lord  not  required 48 

Service 90,    91,      94 

Sin   condemning    22—24 

Spirit    withdrawing    125 

Standing   in   grace 124 

The  Bible  authority   6 

The  estate  of  the  lost 6-14 

The  Gospel  to  be  believed    41 

The  greatest  divine  problem    26-30 

The   "  old  man  "   judged    60 

The  one  condition  of  salvation   42—53 

The  order  of  truth  in  grace    54-57 

The  publican's  prayer    39 

The  riches  of  grace    54—68 

Translation - 63 

Two  cardinal  facts    69-77 

Two  schools  concerning  security    96 

Union  with  Christ    69-77 

Union  with  Father,   Son,  and   Spirit   66 

Various    warnings 103-105 

Why  did  Christ  die  f    31-41,     97 


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